"Aw, they're so cute, what are they mixed with?"

Okay, is it just me, or is this not totally rude? I hear this ALL the time, at least once a week, when I'm out with the kids. I know people don't intend to be rude, but it *is* rude! At least they could ask the question in a less rude way, like "oh, what is their ethnic background?" or something less offensive than "what are they mixed with". I mean, really, it sounds like they're puppies or something: "Oh, they're half chihuahua and half dachshund, amazing breeding, isn't it?" Often it's people who are not white, and I am sure part of it is to see if I am married to a Latino man or something, or at least curious if my children are of the same ethnicity as they are. But you know what really gets me, when I do answer the question with "their father is Arab" (though he's actually half Arab and half Persian, and yes, there is a difference), I often get the strangest looks or a simple "oh"... like, how could you breed with an Arab in times like these. I guess people just don't think when they speak? I would never ask someone what their child was mixed with; maybe I'm old fashioned or overly conscious and shy.

Anyway, I've come up with a good retort: "what, you mean like a sperm and an egg?" hehehe... now to just wait for the next unsuspecting rude person to inquire upon my children's ethnicity.