For Mary Ellen Little, something as simple as grocery shopping can be a challenge.

"It does get tiresome standing in an aisle waiting for somebody to come down to help me get that bottle of ketchup off the top shelf," Little said.

Little, a nurse and single mother of two, is a dwarf, or "little person."

She stands 4-foot-2 and, yes, that is her real name. Her daughters, ages 7 and 11, also were born with dwarfism.

"Every single day, you have somebody looking at you," she said. "Every single day, you have some kid whispering, 'Look at that midget.' "

"Mom," her younger daughter, Sarah, asked, "why do they always do that to us?"

"Because we're different, and people are curious," Little said.

Little, 38, was born to parents of average size. She was raised in Collingswood and now owns the house where she grew up with four average-size brothers.

At age 25, she married a little person. They later divorced.

From an early age, Little's parents told her she could do anything. Today, her story is one of overcoming hurdles in an average-size world.

Her own house looks much like any other home, with a few adjustments made - lowered light switches and doorknobs. Little also drives, using special extensions, the same kind that help her reach a stubborn sock in the back of her clothes dryer.

She has to hunt for "mature-looking" shoes in the kids' section. If she's going to a wedding, she has to special-order her size 2 heels from a company called Cinderella of Boston.

Little is president of the 200-member Philadelphia-area chapter of the Little People of America, a nonprofit designed to "assist dwarfs with their physical and developmental concerns resulting from short stature." The group will hold its annual picnic today at Peace Valley Park in Bucks County.

Nationally, the group has 5,400 members, roughly half of whom are little people; the other half are average-size family members. Perhaps the most well-known members are the stars of Little People, Big World, a series on the Learning Channel that follows the Roloff family. Matt and Amy Roloff - both little people - have four children, only one of whom was born with dwarfism.

Little, who knows the Roloffs and occasionally watches the show with her older daughter, Erin, said the show is a bit controversial among LPA members.

"We all have a different take on it," Little said. "I like the fact that the average-size world is enjoying it, but I have trouble with the idea that a lot of average-size people might think that's how all little people live."

Little said she wonders how much of the show is spontaneous and how much is played up - for instance, when the mother scales not one but three shelves at the grocery store, or hangs back as her only child with dwarfism is picked on at a party.

"Do you really need to have your kid beat up on TV?" Little asked.

She is one of only four known little-people nurses in the country, according to the LPA.

Little specializes in neonatal care, mostly working with preemies. When she first started her career at age 20, Little's height and shortened arms concerned hospital administrators.

"How can I trust you with these babies?" one asked, during an interview for a job in the intensive-care nursery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

"I told her I was very capable once I was on a stool," Little said.

Six weeks into a three-month trial, Little got the job. She worked at HUP until five years ago, when she joined the staff in the intensive-care nursery at Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden.

"Once you've proven yourself at the bedside, the whole height thing goes away," Little said.

From the time she was a girl, Little said, she wanted to care for babies. She wanted babies of her own, too, and she never considered not having children, even though she knew there was a 50 percent chance her kids would be born with dwarfism.

When Little was pregnant with Erin, she said, she didn't care if the baby was an average-size person. She just wanted a healthy baby, she said. When she had her second child, Little admitted, she was somewhat relieved when Sarah was born with the telltale signs of dwarfism, a prominent forehead and "smushed" nasal bridge.

"I wanted the baby to be the same [as Erin], so there wasn't competition between them," Little said. "I know their lives would definitely be easier if they weren't little people, but I wasn't upset. I have a pretty good self-esteem."

Erin said she didn't grasp she was different until she started grade school.

"I started realizing that my classmates got taller than me, and that I was kind of slower at gym," the girl recalled.

Now Erin is the family athlete. She plays volleyball and runs track at St. John Regional Catholic School. Last school season, she ran a mile in 11 minutes, just one or two minutes behind her classmates, and made it into the Camden County Catholic school track league.

"In track, we do laps, and even though I finish somewhat last, I'm still doing it," she said. "It just feels good."

Sarah is a chatty, precocious second grader who takes Irish step dancing classes and has no qualms about "dragging her stool" all around school, while Erin is "anti-stool," forgoing the water fountain at school, Little noted.

Little said she tries to be open and honest with her children. With Erin on the cusp of her teenage years, the parenting topics are more sensitive.

"When dating starts to occur, she might not be picked," said Little, glancing at Erin, who nodded.

As a teen, Little said, she didn't feel attractive to the opposite sex until she went to a national LPA convention and suddenly had several guys hitting on her at once. That's how she met her husband.

Erin, however, said she hopes to marry an average-size man. Why not, since she already has their attention?

"We just like to think that people are looking at us because we're cute," said Little, with a wry smile.

If You Go

The Little People of America area chapter is hosting a picnic at 1 p.m. today at Peace Valley Park in New Britain Township, Bucks County. The event is free. New members are welcome. For more information, e-mail Mary Ellen Little, local chapter president, at lilnurse68@hotmail.com

Access the Little People of America's Web site via: http://go.philly.com/lpa