Dear Stacy and Clinton,

Picture from TVGuide.com

 I've watched "What Not to Wear" for years.  I've watched you tell a million mothers that it's totally practical to look nice and wear expensive clothing during day to day life.  I appreciate a lot of things that you've said.  I try to make sure I look nice when I go out in public, but when I'm at home...that's my zone and no one can tell me that wearing $100 jeans and a silk top is practical.

I'm wearing my third pair of pants for the day.  Yes, the third.  Luckily, my son didn't sleep last night so we got a late start and I was still in my sweats when my daughter sat on my lap and pooped on me.  I'll tell you one thing, if I had been wearing nice clothes, that combined with no sleep might have sent me over the edge.  But, because I was in my sweats... no biggie.  I simply changed into another pair of sweats, and good thing because 2 hours later, my daughter's peanut butter hands somehow found a way to rub my pants and smear the loveliness all over.

So thank you for encouraging us mothers to care for ourselves and take time to feel and look good.  I will always appreciate that advice.  But I will also never feel bad for wearing my sweats around the house so that I can remember that my baby is more important than worrying about the spit up on my shoulder.  There may come a time when dressing a little nicer at home can work, but when sticky hands from dum-dum suckers and poop leaking diapers and throw up going everywhere but the toilet is my every day story, I'll continue to dress comfortably enough to sit Indian style on the floor reading stories and casual enough to not care when a glass of spilled milk goes directly on my lap.