You know you're getting older when... My 16 year old started her driving school today and will soon start her in car lessons.... Watch out everyone...just kidding.

I still can't believe she's old enough to drive. It's good to hear her say that everything she's learning is common sense, lets hope she uses her common sense while driving when she finally does. Unfortunately so many people don't and that's how accidents happen.  

I won't promote the school until she's done a few lessons and I feel she's actually learning something. :)

Whether you are a 1st time buyer or just need a refresher on how the process works, we can help you get started. We have some great professionals that we work with to help you every step of the way. The 1st step is to start with mortgage advice. Mortgage professionals can offer the best advice but there's also some great information on the CMHC website to help get  you started. 

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation was brought into effect with the National Housing Act in 1944 and has been helping people become homeowners ever since.

To help you with your household budget when considering the purchase of a new home they have even set up a budget calculator.

http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/buho/buho_011.cfm

I remember when my daughter was little always looking for neat little things to make her room special. I came across these toddler bed ideas and thought a couple of them were pretty cute.

http://blogs.babble.com/toddler-times/2012/07/30/12-toddler-beds-that-might-keep-your-toddler-in-bed/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=babbleeditors&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=post#nest-bed

I have to wonder is this more of a case of neglectful parenting assuming that a seat will keep their infant safe while they step away. Otherwise, how does an infant come out of a chair like this and crack their skull.

It was found that infants could arch their back and flip or maneuver out of the Bumbo seat, causing injury or falling out. Some of the cases were of infants being placed on tables instead of the floor as recommended. Regardless, it is for this reason that unless a baby is in their crib sleeping they should not be left unattended in a chair, highchair, change table or anything where they could potentially fall. It only takes a second.....Personally not sure the safety kit will stop infants from being injured...but that is my opinion.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/bumbo-baby-seats-recalled-after-injury-reports/article4482362/

The South African company issued the voluntary recall today and recommends the following:

Consumers should take the following actions in conjunction with this voluntary recall:

• Install and always use the restraint belt.

• Apply the new warning sticker over the existing warning on the back of the Bumbo Baby Seat.

• Follow all usage instructions and never use the Bumbo Baby Seat on any raised surface,

http://bumbo.com/

Health Canada link for the recall
 
http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=1666

A picture truly does tell you a lot about a home. Which is why we use the services of SeeVirtual360 for all of our listings. Not only do they hire professional photographers to capture the home, they also offer for professionally measured floorplans. 

There`s nothing worse than going on MLS and searching for your new home only to find homes for sale with no pictures, only a front shot, blurry shots or even worse pictures with people and pets in them. It`s human nature to try to visualize what something is and that is why it is so important to make sure your home gets great photos. The photos are what draws you in.

Take a peak at the houses we have for sale and see what we mean. 

 https://www.balancerealestategroup.com/ActiveListings.php

It is important when you are selling your home to showcase it as best as you can. As a Seller you can set the stage but if you don`t have a good photographer it doesn`t matter how good your house looks, chances are the photos won`t tell the story they need to in order to get your home SOLD! If you scroll through the homes we have SOLD, you will immediately recognize the ones we listed for sale versus the homes we helped our clients purchase, as not all realtors use professional photographers.

If you are thinking of Selling your home this fall, give the Bettina Reid Group a call and we would be happy to give you a free home evaluation and show you how we can help you get your home SOLD!!!

Why not, there`s a day for everything else. Why not recognize left handed people. This is actually the 23rd anniversary of the day! What a great idea to help bring awareness for left handers. 

There`s even a website devoted to this day, that offers some great tips and advice on how to help educate teachers on how to help left handers in the classroom. Many of these tips can be carried out in the home and daily life of a left handed person.

 http://www.lefthandersday.com/ 

As a right handed person you don`t realize how difficult it can be for a left handed person using a right handed tool to do some simple tasks. 

Couldn`t be prouder to be a Canadian than today watching the closing ceremonies for the London 2012 summer Olympics! Watching Christine Sinclair hold our Canadian flag proudly as she marched in alongside the other nations from around the world. We couldn`t have had a better choice to represent our country. 

Congratulations!!! to all our Canadian Olympians whether medal winners or not. They have all shown such great sportsmanship and give our children amazing people to look up to!

Yesterday my eldest daughter turned 16 years old... WOW! I still can`t believe I have a 16 year’s old! I met my husband just before I turned 16 and now I have a 16 year old with her Learners permit entering into her last year of highschool. 

When your kids are young everyone always tells you how fast your kids will grow up and to cherish every moment you have. Now I have become one of those parents because time seems to go by faster and faster the older our children get. This last year of highschool that my eldest is about to enter, will go by much quicker than we would like. Before we know it, we will be taking her to University. We are very proud of her and know this is just another one of the stages in life...

So I will be like all those parents before me and ask that you truly cherish every moment even the small ones. Take the time to just listen and make the moments last because before you know it they are all grown up!

Now that summer is half over, we are seeing buyers back out there looking to buy before kisd are back in school. People thinking of selling are also getting their home ready to sell in the fall market.

Visit the following link for some great tips on improvements you can make to your home if you are considering selling sometime within the next year.

https://www.balancerealestategroup.com/Homeimprovementprojects.ubr

The 1st tip is probably the one I recommend the most. If you do nothing else, the best improvement is usually just paint...Simply refreshing the walls and fixing any spots that need repair. Or, painting appealing neutral colours that will showcase well in pictures. That may be all you need to do to your home to get it ready, then to pack away as much as possible. Less is always more! Stage your home to look like a show home and you will get your home SOLD!

Growing up in Ontario, thunderstorms were a regular summer occurrence. I used to love watching the lightning and listening to the thunder crack in the sky. I was never afraid of them, maybe because my grandmother used to say that "God was bowling (which was why we could hear thunder as the ball rolled down the lane) and every time the lighting struck...he literally got a strike and knocked down all the pins." The stories people tell...:)

My grandmother always lived in an apartment building and we were always told to stay away from the windows. But with being up higher the view was spectacular and we loved to watch as the storm came in. We would count down the time between the strike of lightning and the crack of thunder. The closer they were together the closer the storm was. 

I love living in beautiful British Columbia, but there will always be a few things I miss about Ontario and thunderstorms are one of them. It was something else to listen to the storm coming in, catching the flash of lightning and listening to the loud cracks of thunder.

My poor pooch on the other hand was terrified of the thunderstorm and glued to us all night! :)

I heard today too that the thunderstorm was truly a rare thing for BC, happening only once in a decade like the storm we had last night. I look forward to the next one whenever that might be! :)