To Love, Honor and Vacuum

http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/

For all you moms who feel more like maids than wives and mothers, To Love, Honor and Vacuum helps us build up our marriages, raise great kids, and laugh along the way! Sheila is the author of The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex, too!

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Sheila is a winner of Top 25 Canadian Moms - 2012

What's a great destination for a family vacation in Canada?

Bay of Fundy National Park! It's just breathtakingly gorgeous, and there are lots of campsites and opportunities for hiking. When our girls were little we'd scour the shore for rocks and crabs and shells while the tide was out. Tons of fun!

In what ways is your home town unique from other places you've lived or traveled?

I grew up in downtown Toronto, but now I live in Belleville, a small town in eastern Ontario. And I love it! I can't go to the grocery store or the bank without running into someone I know. After growing up in the big city and learning how never to make eye contact, it's quite the shift growing up in a place where my kids recognize people on the street and say hi!

What outdoor activity do you enjoy doing most with your kids?

Hiking is the best! It gets all of us outdoors, and it gets us talking. Kids always communicate better side by side, when you're doing something together, better than they do face to face, when you're trying to "force" conversation.

So get outside and just walk, and you'll find that you get far more insight into kids' hearts! Plus our country is so beautiful, there are tons of places to explore.

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What's your favorite activity to do in the winter with your family?

Sheila Wray Gregoire

Board games! We try to keep Tuesday nights as Family Games Night, and we'll play all kinds of the new board games, which are really fun: Blokus, Settlers of Catan, Carcassone, Bohnanza. It's time away from the TV and texting when we can laugh together. And when you play games, you talk about other stuff, too. We started games nights when the kids were about 5, and ten years later, we still play!
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What's an affordable and fun family activity?

Sheila Wray Gregoire

Bowling! It sounds awfully geeky, but we have yet to go bowling without everyone collapsing into laughter. And it's so much cheaper than a dinner out, a night at the movies, or a trip to a theme park. Bringing an extra kid or two doesn't cost much, either. Our family also loves board games. We started with Candyland with the kids were little, but quickly (and thankfully) graduated to better ones as they got older. And the games today are so much better than Battleship or Sorry or Life like when we were young. We play Ticket to Ride, or Carcassone, or Settlers of Catan. And when we have people over for dinner, no matter the age, they love being part of our family game ritual!
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How do you keep your kids involved with chores?

Sheila Wray Gregoire

Kids react well to routine! 5 minutes before every mealtime is a good opportunity to do a clean up. If you keep at it everyday, at the same time, then it becomes natural. When things were especially out of hand, I'd also set the timer for 15 minutes, put on some really upbeat music, and yell "Who can pick up the most things and put them away before the timer goes off?" The music helps make things fun! Finally, cut down on the number of toys and the number of clothes, shoes, and coats your kids have. The more stuff you have, the more you have to clean, and the more places you have to find to store things. Keep high quality stuff that you love, and toss the rest!
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