Welcome
I'm Sara, the voice behind Chasing Jupiter, wife to my best friend, and homeschool mom to our two young boys.
Instagram
  • “Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.” -Laura Ingalls Wilder ☀️ ...and don’t forget the fog! Living on the coast gives us a wide variety of weather. Our beach adventure led us to fog, sun, a thunderstorm and back to sun. Another memorable summer day. I’ve recently hit what I believe to be the nesting stage in my pregnancy (my husband might have mentioned something the other day about my continuous need to rearrange furniture...🙈) yet our summer days are much to short to spend indoors. I have definitely neglected some items on the to-do list these past few weeks but the I think the memories have made up for that. 😉 How have you been spending your summer days? 🏖
  • We are all recovering after an all day adventure at the water park yesterday. 🌊 I would like to think that our level of exhaustion today is equal to the amount of fun we had. (Though I could have done without the sunburn 🥵 🦞) 😉 Either way, a quiet day at home was definitely called for! Technology seems to get a bad rep in many homeschooling circles. I tend to be more neutral when it comes to tech so for our family, we definitely include tech in our day through streaming sites like Netflix, tablets, or computers. Our latest tech addition is the Osmo Genius Kit for our tablets. (An amazon prime day deal I couldn’t pass up!) I wasn’t really sure what to expect but we are having so much fun with it! It will be a good add on to our homeschool days this year, especially for our 5yr old! Have you tried Osmo with your kids? What is your kids favourite tech game lately? 💛 @playosmo #techkids #osmonaut
  • “Mom! I’m scared” I groggily sat up in bed and saw my 8yr old standing in front of me clutching his wolf. It was 2am. “What are you scared of?” “I don’t know but I’m having a tachycardia ...! Feel my heart!” I had no idea what he was talking about (it was 2am after all) until the next statement... “I might have a heart attack!” Then I clued in and understood what his young anxious mind was thinking. “Do you mean your heart is beating too fast? “Yes” I quickly picked up my phone to google tachycardia before the spiral continued. (I’ve been through this before, I knew he’d need proof) WebMD to the rescue. We learned together that it was normal for our heart to beat fast when we’re scared, like after a bad dream which is what he experienced. After an hour or so he fell asleep beside me. The nightmare he couldn’t remember and the imagined heart attack he did remember kept him (and myself) up for the next few nights. A differently-wired brain with worries, fears, knowledge, and thoughts so much bigger than himself. So much more advanced than his life experience should allow. Without the life experience to know that healthy 8yr olds do not have to worry about having a heart attack, of course he is scared. It would not make sense or be helpful for me to try and tell him his fear is irrational in that moment. Instead understanding and patience goes much further. Listening and acknowledging his fear helps it pass more than any other explanation I could offer. A heart attack was easy to talk about. We understand it. The google explanation made sense and through a few nights of talking about it the fear has almost passed. But I know it’s not always so simple. He was once scared to fall asleep at night because he didn’t understand consciousness. That wasn’t as simple as a google search. In his mind if he didn’t control his consciousness (sleeping) he may never wake up again. Sleeping made him feel out of control. And we spent months discussing consciousness, but the steps of support were the same. Patience, listening, and understanding. No matter what it always comes back to that... that, and a lot of prayer (and maybe a nap or two) on my part. 💙
  • ““A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men.” ~ Roald Dahl 🌿 Sunday’s spent with friends are the best kind of days. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend! 💕 #bunchoballoons @bunchoballoons
  • I am now well over halfway through my third pregnancy. I’ve always had easy, healthy, low maintenance pregnancies. But just like with my last pregnancy, anxiety creeps in and comes and goes in waves. ————————————— I had what would be considered a traumatic birth with my first child. The physical healing afterward took months, followed by PPD. I remember the first time I mentioned to someone I thought I had PPD. They responded “oh you’re just young and need some time to get the hang of parenting.” I knew it was more than that but I never mentioned it again. I felt ashamed for feeling the way I did, for being unable to connect with my son, for not being “motherly” enough, for being lost and in pain when other women had suffered far worse than me. I kept silent and pretended. ———————————— But silence doesn’t ease trauma. When the fog lifted about year after my first birth, I began to see more clearly. I was able to begin to process what I had been through, but I shouldn’t have lost a year to it. And I should not have spent months of my second pregnancy experiencing severe anxiety and panic attacks. ———————————— I told my doctor recently about the anxiety I’ve been having since finding out I was pregnant. She just listened then acknowledged that I had been experiencing Postpartum PTSD (I didn’t even know that was a thing) from childbirth eight years ago. I could have burst into tears right there in her office. I was so thankful to her in that moment, though she was simply doing her job she listened without judgement, and is now more than willing to do what she can to help ease my anxiety. Her compassion and understanding lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. ———————————— I decided to share this today because so often we only share the best. The happy pregnancy pictures, the beautiful newborn photo shoots, and magical quotes about the beauty of motherhood. Motherhood IS wonderful but it’s not perfect. And maybe, just maybe, there is one or more of you who needed to read this today. Let this be your reminder that you are not alone, you are not a bad mother and there is absolutely no shame in reaching out for help. ❤️
  • “Enchanted education and living are all about small surprises of happy—scattered, littered, peppered throughout garden-variety days.” -Julie Bogart, The Brave Learner 🌿
  • Hi friends! 😀 It’s rare I share a photo of myself on here, mostly because I’m always the one behind the camera. I love seeing all your faces on here and learning more about you so I thought I’d do a little introduction too. I started Chasing Jupiter to share my story of raising and homeschooling two very differently-wired boys. I love talking about what I’m learning through it all, where I’m finding inspiration, and hopefully encouraging you along the way. —————————— A few little things about me, I’m a second generation homeschooler who had always planned on homeschooling my own children when the time came. As you can see I have two young boys and a little baby girl due in September. Slow mornings with coffee and my husband talking about life, future, kids, and homeschooling while we watch the kids play outside is one of my favourite things. It just never gets old. I’d rather buy books than clothes or makeup or really anything else. We read... a lot. We take sun-days instead of snow-days. School books go away and we go exploring. My absolute favourite thing about homeschooling is the freedom. Something I definitely am not willing to trade or give up anytime in the near future. 😉 —————————— As I said in the beginning, I love getting to know all of you better too! If you’re up for a little challenge, share something about yourself, something you’re passionate about, or a little about your homeschool in the comments below! ⬇️ Consider sharing a photo of yourself and a little introduction on your own page too! If you do, tag me in the comments so I can stop by! I love “meeting” the parents behind the page. 💕
  • “Rest begins with acceptance. Or, perhaps more accurately, with surrender. There will always be more you can do. You will never complete your tasks entirely, because just on the horizon is tomorrow, and tomorrow the to-do list starts anew. It is so exhausting—sometimes even demoralizing—to realize that our work in raising up and teaching our children is never really done. But we must remember that we were never intended to finish it.” -Sarah Mackenzie 🌿
  • “Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.” -Christopher Morley 🌿 What have you read or done lately that challenged you? 📚

Follow Me!

Facebook
Facebook