A friend asked me the other day how I manage to "always dress up" when I leave the house and the events of about an hour ago perfectly illustrate my answer of, "To maintain my sanity!" 
Let me first say that I do not "dress up" every time I leave the house.  Dressing up for me entails fancy clothes, sparkly things, and sky high heels.  But since much of society of late has adopted a sadly low form of casual dressing that I am on a crusade to eradicate, I'm sure I look a little more dressy compared to the average Jane around me.  But I have 3 little girls.  A two year old and 7 month old twins.  I wear my most expendable clothing at home and here is why.
Two year old is napping... babies are getting done playing and ready for their afternoon nap.  I lift baby nearest me, smooch her and instantly zero in on that damp, oozy feeling that every mother dreads.  We've blown out a diaper.  I was asleep at the wheel.  Blind to the signs.  Should have caught it at least 10 minutes earlier.  And so a few seconds later I'm kneeling in front of my ottoman/makeshift changing station (when #1 is napping) cleaning as much as I can before plopping baby into sink for a sponge down.  But this is a 7 month old baby who will not go quietly into the sink.  She must kick first.  Kick her feet into things I'm trying to clean up.  Then kick her feet onto... me. 
While cleaning this twin, the other twin decides she wants to join the fun and so I get to repeat the previous 5 minutes of fun but thankfully without the kicking mess.
This is my day.  All day, every day.  And despite the poopy-tone of this post, I love it.  I was cracking up at the insane mess of it all because I know it'll be gone in the blink of an eye.  I have decades left to channel my inner Donna Reed.  I don't have decades of these little wonders.  But my inner Style Maven cries out for attention too and so, when I do get out of the house, be it a Costco run, grocery stop or trip to the park, I try to look better than my daily expendable uniform. It keeps me sane, keeps me cute, keeps me Woman as well as Mother.
And in case you're curious... these are my little style assassins.