The Poltergeist Tree

Remember the movie Poltergeist? I do. Extremely well. You see, when I was 6 year old, my Father was tasked with watching myself, my older sister and her friend, for the day. So, he decided to do what all Dad's do when they have no idea how to entertain three little girls. Take them to the movies. We went to see the cartoon flick, The Secret of Nimh, which was a little scary for me but overall entertaining. And then, after the movie was over, my Dad asked us if we wanted to stay for a special double feature. The movie they were showing was Poltergeist and he promised it wasn't scary.

He freaking lied.

I screamed and ran out of the movie theatre at least twice, but not before I saw the Poltergeist tree swoop in and grab the little boy. Or the scene when the clown under the bed attacked. And who can forget the little girl getting sucked into the TV? I slept with my parents for a week, and I think my Mom was pretty ticked at my Dad.

Found childhood memories.

Why bring it up now, you might wonder? Well, we have a gigantic tree outside the apartment building. Its roots are on three different people's properties. And, lately, the tree has grown so much that the limbs are hanging all over our front walk. Kinda like spindly green arms and, each time I walk from our front gate to the front door, I have to push my way past these arms and I constantly think of The Poltergeist Tree. 

I think it's time to call a gardner to have him come and give the tree a little trim. Otherwise, the limbs are going to take over and I'll never leave the apartment!

Shavuot lunch was fantastic! Everyone loved my deconstructed Mexican appetizer and we all had a really, really nice time. I was exhausted from washing all the dishes, but we had so much fun that it was well worth it. Yesterday, I was in a daze from exhaustion and also because it was a very long day. I still can't get over the fact that, in Israel, it's no longer a holiday while in the States everyone is celebrating second day of Chag. Pidgeon drove me to class and even sat in, which was nice, as he really enjoyed the topic. We analyzed W.E.B. Du Bois Souls of Black Folk and made some interesting comparisons. Pidgeon loves literature so it was a wonderful start to our day.

And, since Pidgeon's sister had a baby girl yesterday morning at 7:45 a.m., we decided to drive into Tel Aviv to buy her a present. Well, that, and because Pidgeon had a 29 credit at CNV (Comics V'Yirakot) and wanted to pick out some good comic books. We also went to Emma Green in Dizingof Mall and bought 2 bath bombs for Mommy's feet, and some cute clothing for the new baby. Afterwards, we popped into Anise for some Terra Chips and juice, and then it was back to Jerusalem for us. We were both so tired that we sacked out on the couch and ate some lunch picked up from New Deli (I had a hot dog craving, which really hit the spot!). Soon, it was time for visiting hours at Shaarei Tzedek and we went to visit the new born. Mommy and baby were doing great and everyone was just happy and tired. We spent 30 minutes with the happy pair before coming back to the apartment.

I was so wiped, and felt like the biggest dishrag, that I fell asleep while watching TV. Pidgeon had to help me into bed, help me with my shot, and I was asleep by 11:30 p.m. 

We had another early morning wake up call today as we went to Tipat Chalav around the corner to chat about my pregnancy. I showed then nurse all my information and she bluntly asked us why we were there. I told her that my sister-in-law told me to come, but I had no idea what they did. She smiled and basically told me that since I have two Dr.'s taking care of me, they weren't needed. We were so embaressed that we wasted her time, that we walked home with perverbial tails between our legs. I was also really tired, so I was angry that we woke up extra early for no good reason. Oh well, I guess the upside was that I know where they are located and what they do for babies. P"G, she told us she'll see us after the birth.

We got home and, since I was starving, I ate a quick breakfast. My eyes started closing so I decided to crawl into bed and managed to nap for a couple of hours. And then, Pidgeon came back from running some errands in town, and he woke me up for today's main event.

Today, we had our "big ultrasound", which is when the Dr. looks at every part of the baby to make sure they are developing well. I was more nervous today than I was on my wedding day. We got to the office, filled our forms, and then sat with the Dr. He asked me to get on the scale and seemed surprised when I asked if I could take off my heavy New Balance sneakers. I, of course, was up 8 pounds since last month. He was not pleased with that and told me that I should "stop eating breads and be careful". He told me not to gain more than 4 pounds a month. I was shocked with the scale and didn't agree with what it said. I weighed myself yesterday morning and I was 4 pounds lighter than what the scale said. I mean, what did the Dr. expect to see? It was 1:30 p.m., I had eaten breakfast and a snack, drank at least 4 glasses of water, and was wearing all of my clothing. That's not the right time to weigh a pregnant lady. Shavuot and all the cheesecake didn't help me either, so I'm back on healthier alternatives to food and hopefully I won't gain more than the required amount. Believe me, with all this working out I've been doing, I too want to keep my weight healthy.

He was, however, very happy with my blood pressure. I wasn't surprised as I've tended towards low blood pressure my whole life. P"G, that should be something that I keep relatively low throughout the pregnancy.

Anyway, the ultrasound was incredible. He did a scan of the baby and looked at everything to make sure it was developing normally. And then, he asked us if we wanted to know the sex, and we said "hells yeah!" And so, now we know, and I'm the worst secret keeper in the world! I just want to tell all of my family and friends what we're having, but we want it to be a surprised. 

So, we told my folks, who needed to know since they already have travel plans to Israel for December. All I'll say is that they are planning accordingly.  As for us, we've been in a bit of a fog since we left the Dr.'s office. It's just so surreal and amazing. I have about 16 ultrasound photos of the little babes, who I could swear was sucking its thumb at some point during the procedure. It was simply amazing. 

Well, I'm off to finish my second load of laundry for the day and to figure out what I'm feeding Pidgeon for dinner. 

Erev Tov from Baka!