Are the all yours?

I have a love hate relationship with people who ask me this-and trust me, it gets asked every single time we have ever gone out in public since Emery was born. What really baffles me is that the kids are good out in public and usually aren't bothering anyone when people come and comment. We take the kids out to eat every few weeks-maybe once a month. They are always good because they know it is such a special treat. People even stop at our table to ask if they are all ours. Then, we get the following comment "Well, you have your hands full". That makes me want to cuss someone. Yes, to take any child-whether it be 1 or 6 or 10-there are lots of things you need-stroller, purse, keys, cell phone, diapers, etc but I don't really think of it as "oh this is awful, I will never take them out again". We go normal public places-Walmart, the zoo, out to eat, the library, etc. I think of everyday as a learning experience for them and if they never learn how to act in public, I won't have done my job of being their mom. I just wish people would keep their comments and head counts to themselves.

I got some new books this week-a book on changing what we eat, a bread book because I forgot how much the kids like to make bread, and a book on the challenges of a large family. I am especially excited about the large family book. I hope it has some real advice for large families. I know, people always have cleaning tips or flylady or whatever and I have tried lots of different stuff but none of it (especially Flylady) accounts for the 6 little people going right behind me and making a mess faster than I can clean it up. I would also like to get some pointers on a better chore chart for the kids. They are all very capable of doing chores and we have been working on this for awhile but I need to hear what works for other big families.