I have a new fascination, and I have to admit it seems a little weird. Lately I’ve been hooked on reality shows about people with really big families.

It started this past weekend with a marathon of TLC’s 'Jon and Kate plus Eight.' If you’ve haven’t seen this series, it follows the lives of a couple who had twins, then decided to try for another baby, only to have sextuplets.

And then there’s the Duggar family from Arkansas, regularly featured in specials on the Discovery Channel, all of which I have seen. The Duggars have 17 children. And, as they recently announced on the ‘Today Show,’ number 18 is on the way.

I think the reason that I’m always utterly mesmerized by these shows is: 1) because I grew up as an only child, and can’t even fathom having that many people in the house, and 2) because of the way these people live.

I’ll be honest, some weeks I go out to eat every night because I can’t stand the thought of cooking or going to the grocery store. And more often than not my laundry piles up and my apartment gets dusty because I feel like I’m too busy to bother with housework.

And that’s just with me living in the house, I can’t imagine multiplying that by another adult and a soccer team of children. And being organized enough to know what's going on, let alone raise children that turn into competent, upstanding, well-rounded adults.

If you’d like to join in on my fascination, here’s a link to Jon and Kate’s web page. And here’s the Duggar family’s page on the Discovery Channel site, as well as their personal web page.