J was supposed to have a tap class, but the teacher was sick so it was cancelled. I went out to buy her new tap shoes this morning ($73!!), but I heard later that they may not be using that style this year so just keep them in the box til we know for sure. We went to visit J's old dance studio and say hi to the owner who was there and commented that J got so big. J is still part of the logo on that studio's website - a pic they took of her when she was 3 (which you can see HERE). It's a great studio, with tons of classes and even voice, drama, and audition classes. K was selected by the talent agent who works with them and she went on several auditions for print and tv ads back in 1999. That's too much of a strange world for us, though. The other parents and children we met were very, um, "holier-than-thou" and unfriendly. Besides we cannot drop everything when they call, as they expect you to. We may have considered pursuing more of it if it were feasible at that time, though, mainly for K's college money.

We went food shopping this afternoon and got into a conversation about why the bagged spinach was off the shelves. We discussed e-coli, physical symptoms, crop growing practices, and farms in general which in turn led to why Macintosh apples are real cheap this time of year (we got lots!). They helped me shop and J rattled off math facts very quickly in her head regarding unit pricing, sales, and produce weight/price.

I have been letting K walk home from school this week with 2 of her friends. Of course I'm a nervous wreck, but she calls me when her friends go home and we talk the whole 1.5 blocks she's by herself. She is almost 13, and I can remember being allowed to do a helluva lot more at that age. But it's a different world now and I'm not comfortable with too much freedom for her yet. CCD (Sunday school) starts up this weekend and K goes only for a month before making her Confirmation. I stopped by the restaurant we're having her party in and left a $ deposit. We're having a big buffet spread and a DJ for the 4-hour party. I bought an invitation "kit" in lieu of ordering the $116/for 50 she originally wanted. I spent about 1 1/2 hours printing them out myself with font, color, and content chosed by K. I must say for $26.99 they came out FANTASTIC and look almost identical to the professional ones.

In the dance shop, I got into a conversation about high schools with the lady there. Her daughter goes to the school that I was looking at for K and I asked her about it. I told her I called them and the guidance counselor there told me we weren't zoned for that school so I sadly had to cross it off my list. She said it wasn't a zoned school and she gave me the name of a woman she knows who works there. OMG! This school is so perfect for K - very small and in a neighborhood I like. It would be ideal if she got in there. I read once there were no coincidences in life and that everything really does happen for a reason. This had to be one of those.