married without children (for now)

I used to think it was 'marrieds vs. singles' - that the only thing dividing me and some of my friends was a ring on my finger and a ketubah on my wall. But now that I've crossed the line into married-dom, I realize that not all marrieds are alike. When you're a newlywed couple living in the 'burbs', you're pretty much in the minority - most people out here tend to have at least two kids, if not 3.2. We didn't have to move to the 'burbs' so soon in our marriage, but I guess we thought renting any half-decent apartment would be a serious waste of cash. And so we're here in 'burb'-ville, where most people our age have strollers in front of their homes and swing-sets in the back.
I like kids. I want to have a half-dozen some day. But why-oh-why do the people out here have to keep talking about them?
It seems like the only conversations I hear nowadays are about this school or that school, the pros of this school or that school, daycare versus home-care.... I'm hearing the same conversations I used to hear my mother have with her friends....
Seriously - it's like these people, my own age, have grown up ten years just by producing those little monsters. Is that what happens when you become a mommy? Do you undergo some kind of personality metamorphosis when you have a baby? I used to think growing up meant getting married and having a mortgage. Now I think it means bringing someone younger than you into this world...