Mother Goose

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe she
had so many children she didn't know what to do.

This simple nursery rhyme has raised many questions with me. How old was this old woman? How many rooms does a shoe have? How many children is so many? The rest of the rhyme is something about whipping them and putting them to bed. How can that be good? Was Mother Goose a real person or a real goose?
I do feel like the old woman in the shoe in some ways. I have so many children, and I know what to do but I don't do it because I am so tired...and old.

Don't get me started on Rock a Bye Baby. It's just sick what with the baby and cradle falling out of a tree.