I'm Charmed...

Hi! Many of you have been asking if in the midst of all the drama, if I've been able to keep up with my crafting. Well, as you know I did have to miss Silver Bella... which about broke my heart... sniff sniff... BUT I am SO going to be at Jenn's event, Petticoats and Parasols, in April!! And possibly the Paper Cowgirl retreat in the summer IF Joanna teaches... and then of course Cassandra's Marie Event in February 2011...

Nonetheless, I have to admit that my crafting time has been few and far between. However, I have found that beads and charms do travel well. Actually as of right now the only craft materials I have with me here in Arkansas are my beads and charms. So when I have those sleepless nights I find myself doing some beading. And from the looks of this post I have had a lot of sleepless nights... LOL... lots of lost beauty sleep!! EEK!!

So without further ado... some charming eye candy for y'all!! ( I feel like I can say y'all now that I am in NW Arkansas and that there are cows in my backyard... LOL!)

This first charming beauty is an Alice In Wonderland Inspired Charm Bracelet, and most of the beads are glass. They tinkle most delightfully! I made one for myself and then one for my AIW sister, Gina!

I made this bracelet for my sweet and dear friend, Sheri. Sheri was my neighbor in Long Beach and I miss her terribly.

CONFESSION: THIS IS ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE BRACELETS EVER!

This little sugary number was a re-vamp of my orginal store bought Hello Kitty bracelet. Just this week I added pretty bead charms and a new bracelet. Being I adore HK, I am loving this bracelet!

I have been in ONE swap in the last 2 months and it was Cassandra's Twilight Charm Swap. The fabulous ladies that made these swap are as follows: Rhonda, Bianca, Kristin and our awesome hostess Cassandra.

I was SHOCKED, DELIGHTED, WALKING ON AIR when I got the package with all the charms... INCREDIBLE! I got so many awesome charms that I made 2 bracelets...

Thanks to the talented ladies that joined this swap... it was one of my favorite all time swaps... EVAHHHH!!!

I also made a red and black inspired Twilight charm bracelet... and I love them equally!!

Okay... now hold on to your hats!! This beauty is from the Marie Antoinette Mail Art Group I belong to and this bracelet was a round robin bracelet. It is in gold... a medal I rarely wear but for the most special of occasions... and this bracelet is defiantly a bracelet so glamorous and stunning that it will be kept for those special occasions. I LOVE IT!! I admire it daily... I can NOT wait to have a special occasion to wear it to!!

So, dear friends, I guess some beauty came out of losing so much of my beauty sleep after all!!

Charmingly Yours,

Bryanna

Karma

A week ago John, JJ and I were JUST getting into the truck, towing my car behind and heading towards Fayetteville. This week we are already seeing improvements in JJ, have sailed through our first doctor appointment in JJ's treatment and bought a house!!

Yep, JJ is doing just fine!! We have a long way to go but I feel optimistic that we are finally on the right path. We saw our first doctor today and although we have another half dozen physicians, OTs, and neurologists to see before the end of this road, this first visit went really well. We decided to start on a road of natural recovery with JJ at this time and so we saw a naturopathic doctor. We are hoping to combine naturopathy, CST and acupressure before seeing a DAN doctor. The waiting list to see a DAN doctor is at least 3 months long and so we think that this may be a good start. Plus for those of you that know me well, know that I am not a 'western medicine kind of gal' so I am very pleased to have the opportunity to start our approach to recovery naturally.

Yep, we bought a house!! We weren't wasting any time! John had one full day in Arkansas before turning around and heading back to LA and we have a baby that needs a good toxic free environment. So... my Mom had a list of houses narrowed down for us to see and we decided on a brand new house! Construction will be finished on November 15 and now that our loan is approved we should be able to move in in about 30 days... unless my karma will somehow carry over to getting us in a little earlier... wink wink!

And GUESS WHAT!! My big sis, Joanna, is about 5 hours away from me and she is going to come and see me!! We have decided to do our Silver Bella swapping here in Arkansas! Is that just AWESOME or what?? I can't wait!!

So... the light at the end of the tunnel is shining bright for us! We have made a good decision for our sweet son and for us. Life goes on... it really does!!

xo

Bryanna

We Made It

Well, we made it to Fayetteville, Arkansas. We arrived late Sunday night. Tired, exhausted, hungry and raw. JJ is doing fine... he has started doing some natural detoxing which although amazing is also just plain frightening!! I am just praying that this is the beginning of the end. I never imagined that we would be were we are at with JJ's health... it is just so scary!!

John left this morning to return to California. We hope to see him again for Christmas, which is also John's birthday. I hope we are all together-- it won't be Christmas without him. His job runs until March so it is possible we won't get the opportunity to be all together until March 2010. Every time I think about it I just feel a lump coming on in my throat...

Yesterday, we put a bid on a home here in Fayetteville. My parents had picked out half a dozen homes that they thought we would like. We walked through and found one and just like that... put a bid on it. It is strange to think this is all happening!! I never dreamed we would buy a house in one day... but we need something so... we just jumped in...

We are starting over... new furniture, appliances, just about everything... it will take at least a good couple years to just get back on our feet but our real goal is to just get JJ healthy again. If we can accomplish that without furniture to sit on or fancy clothes to wear it will ALL be worth it.

It is just so overwhelming and so unreal that this is happening...

I am happy to be so close to my parents (we (JJ and I) are staying here until we can get into our own house, lucky for me my parents have a huge home and we have an entire floor to ourselves). I am happy that JJ is now safe and stabilized. I am happy to be in the cool fall weather.

But I am so, so, so sad that John and I are seperated... sad doesn't even begin to describe how I REALLY feel.

Again, thanks for all the sweet cards, gifts, special packages for JJ. We really appreciate it.

I hear my Mom calling... LOL.

xo

Bryanna

Here we go... we are really doing this!!!

John, JJ and I leave tonight for Arkansas... at 10 pm. Whew! Wow! I am so overwhelmed... one minute I am hysterically crying and then the next minute I am so happy to be going... where I know life will be better. It is just so overwhelming... more than any other emotion I am so overwhelmed... SO OVERWHELMED.

We have packed up very little as so many of our possessions just are not worth the risk to JJ in taking. It will be *easier* to start off fresh!! It is exciting to think that we will get the opportunity to change our style now... lol. Silly thinking, eh?

We have already made arrangements to be seen by doctors as soon as we get to Arkansas. There is a 3 month wait to get into a DAN doctor (Defeat Autism Now) so in the meantime we will be conferring with our wonderful doctor here in Los Angeles and the many other doctors we have seen in the last year. We will also be temporarily be seeing a doctor that although isn't a DAN doctor will "help us" until we can get into the DAN doctor.

So... 3 dogs, 2 adults and 1 wee baby leave tonight... just not on a jet plane...

Goodbye to all my dear friends... to everyone that has sent packages of goodies to us... so wonderful! To all the friends who have shown up to help us with JJ while we pack, etc. To our awesome, incredible the BEST neighbors in the world who have done just about anything to try to help us to stay but who support us in the decision we have made to leave. To our family members who are caring and supportative and understanding... THANK YOU!! To all my sweet blogging friends and art friends that have offered us so generously to stop and stay at their homes, ranches and farms... how we would love to... so far all the offers have been out of the way of our path to Arkansas... but THANK YOU!! How wonderful...

1... 2... 3... HERE WE GO!!!

xo

Bryanna

We are off... to a new world... a new adventure...

Starting over...

I don't know where to start... I really do not. I had hoped to keep all the doom and gloom out of The Canary's Cupcake...

We received a heavy metals and toxicity report yesterday on JJ. It literally brought me to my knees. As a matter of fact his total toxic representation is OFF THE CHARTS.

In a last ditch effort to save the future of our child's health, John and I have decided that we have no choice but to split our little family up. John will remain here in California to deal with our house and the issues it has added to JJ's condition and to keep working as we are buried under a pile of medical bills. Yes, we do have health insurance but let me tell ya folks-- when you start to think out of the box on ways to possibly save your child... your choices are very limited when it comes to insurance!!! Anyway, John will remain in California and JJ and I, once JJ is able to to travel (we will drive, he can not be exposed to the general population on a airplane, etc) will move to Arkansas. My parents are in Arkansas and I need their help both emotionally and physically as I am so exhausted at this point, and the cost of living is lower, and environmentally we are hoping it is more sound.

It is something we did not want to do... split us up... as we both feel strongly that if possible that having both Mother and Father in the home is most beneficial to our child. But our hands are tied as we continue to watch the health of our child disintegrate.

In the meantime, we are keeping only those things nearest and dearest to our hearts... we are starting over... hoping this is the answer that will finally help our son.

As soon as we can travel, JJ and I will be on our way...

I will keep in touch on my cell and on the net....

Any mail that has been sent our way will continue to be collected by John until the house is out of our lives... so no worries, I know I have some items coming this way... as soon as I have a new address I will share it....

xo

Bryanna

Welcome Friends

Hi! Thank you for joining me at my new blog site!! I decided to go in a different direction than The Polka Dot Parliament... at first I was just thinking I would just move to blogger and keep the same name, but then when I got here my name (The Polka Dot Parliament) was NOT available... I have searched for it but can't find it so... I decided it was a SIGN to go in a different direction... I think it is only appropriate as there have been so so so SOOOOOO many changes in my life lately... so here we are... TWEET TWEET and WELCOME FRIENDS!

I'd love to take credit for this beautiful blog but I can not... but my talented friend, Cassandra, can!! And you can find more of her awesome blog designs at Blogs N Such. Thank you, Cassandra... in all my "drama" I may not have thanked you like I should have and I want you to know I LOVE IT!!

I, also, want to thank all of YOU-- readers and friends-- that have emailed me or commented on the Parliament blog in regards to me and my family. We are doing ok. JJ is hanging in there... as weak as his immune system is, he is a stubborn strong little guy! I know way more than I want to about immunizations, autoimmune diseases, mold and autism. HOWEVER, in the last 24 hours we have had a major breakthrough in what may be causing a lot of JJ's problem(s)... so... hopefully we will be turning the corner into a better place very soon!!

Now for the GOOD stuff... ok so did you see this:


WOW!! It is incredible and I am honored to have been included... thank you! thank you!

Thankfully I have had a lot on my plate lately so I was able to keep this next EXCITING AND AWESOME event a secret... let me tell you it wasn't easy!!


For more information on either of these awesome things you can find a full posting on Cassandra's blog, My Artful Adventures.

So again, Thank you and it's nice to be back...

xo
Bryanna