Oy Vey!

Yesterday, we made our annual trip to the Lowell Folk Festival.  It's always got a lot of yummy food and it's right in our back yard so we try to go.  We loaded the babies up in the Choo Choo Wagon and started our treck to find some Spanikopita and Grape Leaves. 
I guess I know we sort of turn heads when we go places, but this was different.  We couldn't do anything without comments (polite and rude), pointing, laughing, and people trying to take the babies' picture. We were constantly stopped and questioned (polite and rude).  It does get old having to answer the same questions over and over again...
Are they triplets?
Do they keep you busy?
Do you get any sleep?
These were a few of my favorites from yesterday...
Are they 4 twins? (Eli included)
Did they give you that when you had the triplets? (pointing to the Choo Choo wagon)

Some people "get it" and say something nice and keep walking.  Others we were able to joke with and understood our situation.  Still others though, took it to a whole different level.

Many people whipped out their cameras to take pictures.  This is what got my blood boiling. 
Why is it OK to take our picture? 
Are we a side show, spectacle, or some sort of tourist attraction? 
Do we know you? 
Would you walk up to a guy with one leg and take his picture? 
How about a "little person"? 
Or that lady with a huge birthmark on her face? 

This is our life.  We didn't ask for this...well I guess we did, didn't we?  When I was 10 weeks pregnant and told to "reduce" aka terminate aka abort babies B & C (now known as Nate & Sam), and I didn't, I guess I did ask for this life.  When I signed all the papers about my pregnancy and how risky is was, there was nothing in the small print about the lunacy of people in public.

I just don't understand.  Some people were nice and asked first.  When we told them "No thank you".  They understood.  Then there were the CRAZY people who yelled at us and told us it was their right to take our picture. 

I'm all about the USA and our rights and all, but this is a bit fuzzy.  How do I know what you're going to do with that picture?  How do I know you're not a pedophile?  How do I know if you're going to go home and post it on your Facebook page with some crazy comments about my (adorable) babies?

So what I decided to do, was take their pictures right back.  Becuase my laptop is in the shop, the big upload will have to take place later.  I think I'm going to start a new TAB of "Stupid People who Took our Picture without our Permission".  One lady even smiled...Nice.

To allay the thoughts "Well it couldn't be that bad."  Here are the (loose) stats:  For every 1 person we asked not to take our picture, there were probably 2 or 3 that we didn't catch.  We asked between 15 & 20 people to stop.  That equals about 30-60 people running around with my boys' picture on their phone/camera/IPad/other device....so...not...cool...

Because I posted this whole episode to our FB, I figured I'd do a further explanation here.  The questions get old.  Maybe it's the SAME, STUPID QUESTIONS that get old.  The people who say something new and creative "Wow, it must be a lot of fun at your house." get a conversation.  The people who take their pictures without permission or who yell at us for blocking their view of the babies, are NUTS! 

From what I hear, the whole excitement over triplets will fade out once the babies get older and I'll look back on it fondly.  Well this blog post will definitely remind me of the "good ol' days".