Category Archives: Introductions

Introductions of people – including myself – who you read about in this blog.

Beauty and The Beast

Posted on by February 25, 2020

Sam’s Saga starts here:
Sam Part I,

Sam Part II,
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Sam has had a rough year. A rough, rough year. He loves ballet, but he nearly rejected it because he went through a phase of hating everything. And when things were at the utworst, when I thought he was going to have to stop dance, the ballet reached out to him. This was late last year.

They were making a calendar. They needed a little boy to be in a picture, and would Sam please come. OK, let me be clear. They did NOT need a little boy for a picture.… Read the rest

SITS Girls Spring Fling

Posted on by February 25, 2020

Welcome to the Jester Queen for a second time this Monday. Sorry, I couldn’t leave the first post up on the front page for very long. And I have some exciting news to replace the Monday blues. Starting tomorrow, the Jester Queen is holding her first ever giveaway. I don’t anticipate transforming my blog into a different kind of place. I’m just adding some fun to the mix. Is it advertising? Yeah. It is. But it’s FUN.  I heavily weighed this. And I ultimately decided in favor of it.

I will never write content that is less than honest. (Yes, I know.… Read the rest

Thank God For the Fireflies

Posted on by February 25, 2020

The super moon has turned Sam into a super monster. Seriously. He’s been on a rampage today. He isn’t normally all that talkative, but today? It’s been nonstop words. We took him to the zoo this morning, and I swear to God he woke up every snake in the reptile house bellowing “HERE I AM,” as he ran in the door.

When we got home, we tried to slow things down with a viewing of Wall-E. Scott and I enjoyed the movie. What little we saw of it between “hug attacks” and “What’s that?” bombardment. (NB: This is a kid who can follow Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen so I know he’s full of piss and vinegar when he claims to be unclear about a Pixar plot.… Read the rest

A letter to my dog, who is dying

Posted on by February 25, 2020

 

Dear Fudge,

Thank you for eating today’s hot dog. You’ve bought us all twelve more hours until the inevitable. And maybe twelve more after that, if you’ll let me feed you another. This morning, when it took two of us to guide you to the door, and still your legs splayed out four times, I thought we had run out of time. But you revived. Found your footing. Ate the hot dog. The walking, at least, would be simpler if you stayed on the carpet or your bed.

You are old. Eleven. You have dysplasia in front and back. And yet, you will sleep on the hardwood.… Read the rest

Down the years

Posted on by February 25, 2020

When the doorbell rang at 5AM, I bolted awake from dead sleep. I jumped out of bed and took off running hell for leather down the hall “Oh no! Oh something is terribly, terribly wrong! Come fast,” I said to Scott.

As if he wasn’t pelting along behind me.

All I could think was Sam, Sam, Sam. He’s a flight risk. We’ve considered documenting him. He seems to be settling down, so we haven’t gone through with it, but, Sam, Sam, Sam, when that doorbell rang, I wished we hadn’t dithered and delayed.

I barely looked out before I threw open the door.… Read the rest

Old Alabama Town

Posted on by February 25, 2020

Well, since I didn’t explode the blog yesterday, it’s time to try this slideshow thing again today. Yesterday’s show was a little on the small side, IMHO, so I’m going to go for bigger. But I don’t know if I’ll get it.

We went to the Alabama book festival yesterday and wandered around with the heady smell of intellectualism in our noses for three hours until Sam started trying to break antiques. The festival was housed in Old Alabama Town, a sort of miniature Ye Olde Williamsburg. I’ve avoided the place before, because I feared it would be all Gone With the Wind veneration of the old South.… Read the rest

Cena Mexicana

Posted on by February 25, 2020

We don’t eat out often. With two kids on the spectrum and one of those kids being Sam, we forego most public dining opportunities. However. In order to buy me editing time for my second novel, we’ve been travelling a lot. Scott drives, I edit, and the kids entertain themselves with handheld games. We go somewhere fun and spend time together as a family, then I edit more on the way home. Win-win.

Except that my kids are hungry people. And when they get hungry? My people get cranky. And we don’t always bring enough snacks. SO we sometimes have to stop to eat, and we sometimes stop where no fast food is available, or when we’re just sick to death of the stuff.… Read the rest

Wazzzupppp

Posted on by February 25, 2020

Hey dudes, I heard there was a PARTAY in the HOUSE

Well, I for one am ALL in favor of celebrations. Especially the ones that involve days and days of hedonistic blogging.

Just to give you a quick introduction, I’m Jessie the Jester Queen, and I’ve got two kids, Caroline and Sam, and an awesome husband, Scott. I’m bipolar. The kids are both on the autism spectrum. Caroline is eight and has been formally diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.  She’s a budding ballerina who is terrified of most TV shows but loves live plays.

Sam is four, and we’re still at the beginning of our diagnosis process with him.  … Read the rest

Sam at the playground

Posted on by February 25, 2020

Before

After

Shit! How did that happen?

… Read the rest

Eggz

Posted on by February 25, 2020

It started with the colors

But things got silly fast

for Sam, anyway.

Caroline was into the eggs at a much deeper level

She really considered what colors to use

and took great pride in her results;

especially when she realized I’d put her name on one of her eggs.

Sam was pretty thrilled when he saw his first eggs come out.

 

But on the whole, he was more interested in dumping colors together and dying himself mushy blue.

In the end, they both had an eggsellent time.

Right up until Sam melted down for four hours when the project was over.… Read the rest