Ali Kaiser

Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by the Depo-Provera birth control shot. The constant pain from endometriosis is what persuaded my decision to use the shot as my primary choice of birth control for many years. It seemed like the perfect fit since not only would it take the pain away but it would take my periods away completely. WIN WIN, Right? Wrong, I was so very very wrong. Before I even get into it, I don’t want this message to come off as I’m saying don’t ever use this form of birth control, but I’m basically saying don’t use this form of birth control, unless you’ve done extensive research and you believe the benefits outweigh the risks. Because they probably don’t, and there are other forms of birth control that are just as effective. It breaks my heart to read about so many stories of the negative effects the shot has had on so many women. First and foremost the shot is not supposed to be used as long term (>2yrs) birth control. Mainly due to the fact that long term use can cause you to lose bone mineral density and increase your risk for osteoporosis. But they don’t really talk about the other side effects that don’t seem so major but can have major effects on your well being. Like how if your sensitive to hormones the amount of excess progesterone can cause major mood swings and depression, enough to make your parents think you are a troubled teen instead of experiencing awful side effects. Or Fatigue, acne, weight gain, all things that make going through puberty that much more difficult. Another long term side effect that no one ever mentioned is that indent you can see from literally a mile away there on the bottom of my right hip from never rotating injection sites. Which is hard for me to accept. The list goes on & the horror stories continue to grow, but that’s for a later time with many more characters 😬 Today I just wanted to share with you my experience with just a few of the side effects and to suggest to maybe read into it if your doctor has ever mentioned it to you. I feel that a lot of the time when it comes to BC we just do what’s easy and convenient instead of what’s really best for our bodies. 🤍

My first ombré and they remind me just a liiiiiitle bit of candy corn 😂 Pink candy corn of course 😜 #liketkit #LTKunder50 #LTKstyletip #LTKbeauty @shop.ltk http://liketk.it/3lflZ

Panama City Beach did not disappoint 🤍 🌊🌴 Beach days are the best days! I think we are ready to visit @karlieelewis and her girls next! 🤍🤍🤍

Don’t forget to take care of yourself too. Don’t let go of the things that make you happy. Don’t conform just because society wants you to. Don’t let other’s opinions persuade your decisions. Don’t ever settle for less than you deserve. You’re here to do great things. You don’t have to live your whole life unnoticed or unhappy. Be true to yourself, and live unapologetically. If you are misunderstood it’s due to ignorance, because not everyone will take the time to understand, but they will still judge anyway. Don’t take it to heart. You can’t make everyone happy, and it’s not your job to do so. You are amazing, you are beautiful, you are enough, I hope you always remember that. 🤍 This swimsuit brings a whole lotta sexy back to the one piece and makes you feel so fierce like the baddie you are! You don’t have to give that up just because you’re getting older or because you’re a mom. I know you’ve seen it, I know you’ve contemplated buying it. Just do it. You won’t regret it. 🤍 @liketoknow.it #liketkit http://liketk.it/3k45y #LTKswim #LTKstyletip #LTKunder50

“That’s why her hair is so big it’s full of secrets” 🤫 or could just be two rows of IBE Repost from @erickalatham.hair 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍 I just still can’t even believe this is my hair 😍 I’ll never get bored of hair pics, so I hope you don’t either 😉 When we moved here to Georgia, I kept putting off getting my hair done in fear that I wouldn’t find another stylist who I could trust with my wants and needs and before I knew it 6 WHOLE MONTHS had gone by since my last touch up 😱 I decided to take a chance and stay small and local because I had such a great experience with that back in Indiana. I’ll admit I was a little spoiled with @jessicazurbrugghair who was also my long time friend and always gave me exactly what I wanted without me even saying a word! 🤍 So I did some research and found @erickalatham.hair here on Instagram! No joke! & I couldn’t have made a better decision for my hair! She has really gone above and beyond! She’s come in on her days off and she’s absolutely exceeded all of my expectations AND she’s introduced me to my new found love of extensions 😍 I would have never guessed that I would look forward to sitting in a chair for 5+ hours to get my hair done so much 😂 I honestly don’t ever want to go back to a life without them! 💇🏼‍♀️

Sometimes I crave the burn, other times I’m so dang salty about how much work it takes to actually see the results I want.. Here’s another reminder to not compare yourself to every picture you see on Instagram. This is a real picture of me, but I’m flexing, and just because everything looks toned in this picture doesn’t mean that this is how I look 100% of the time and that I don’t have any imperfections. I’m still a mama of two, I still have the baby pooch and my backside doesn’t always look perky. I work really hard and I put in a lot of time into my physical health and appearance, however I’m VERY slowly coming to terms with no matter how much time and effort I put in, stretched skin will never go back to the way it was pre-baby. So don’t fall for all of those gimmicks out there, you will feel so discouraged when they don’t work for you but pictures show they worked for someone else. They didn’t. Coming from a nurse, stretch marks happen in the dermal layer of the skin, and unfortunately you cannot repair this. You can fade their color with creams, but no cream on this earth will get rid of them. You can help your skin to stretch by nourishing it while you are growing, but after they are there, you own them. And rightfully so. It’s hard work growing a baby! Look I’m not going to sit and here and say I’m totally okay with the way my body responded to pregnancy and that I love my stretch marks. Because I don’t. But I’m working on it, And I would still do it all over again for my babies in a heart beat. We are all only human, no matter how perfect the picture looks. Swipe to see how flexing and positioning can change the appearance of a photo. 🤍 @liketoknow.it #liketkit http://liketk.it/3jfUI #LTKstyletip #LTKfit #LTKunder50

We didn’t take any fancy photos, we just lived in the moment 🤍🌴🌞🌊 The boys had so much fun in the water while Rho and I had so much fun, well, picking sand out of our hair 🤪 If you’re ever in the Savannah area around the 4th of July, Tybee Island puts on a pretty spectacular fireworks show! 🧨

Beach hair vibes 🌴🌞🌊

I can’t even deal with how things change on a weekly basis with a 4 year old. It’s like it’s the age where everything starts to click in their little brains and they can suddenly focus for longer than 5 seconds and hold actual conversations that mean something. It’s pulling on my heart strings so much watching this little guy grow. When the day comes where he has to go to school, I can promise it’s going to be so much harder on me than him! Oh How I wish I could just pause time! Please send tissues! 😭🤍😭🤍

Go beyond your own boundaries if you want to find out what you are really capable of 🤍 @liketoknow.it #liketkit http://liketk.it/3iGu0 #LTKstyletip #LTKunder50

For my birthday this year my mom got me a succulent subscription so I could start a succulent garden! They are still just babies right now, but they are so stinking cute! 🤍🤍🤍 Swipe to see my moms awesome garden and what they will look like after they have grown! Surprisingly, they are super easy to grow for how small they are! @liketoknow.it #liketkit http://liketk.it/3im3r #LTKstyletip #LTKunder50

I hope you never settle for anything less than you deserve. I mean it when I say that. You deserve to be happy, No matter who you are and no matter what anyone says. YOU DESERVE TO BE HAPPY. Don’t ever let anyone take that away from you. 🤍 @liketoknow.it #liketkit http://liketk.it/3ii2F #LTKstyletip #LTKunder50 #LTKhome

The ultimate theater seating! This is where they choose to watch movies 90% of the time, and it’s literally the best thing ever because the day has finally come where my living room floor isn’t covered in a million toys! Well, most of the time anyway! 😬 Things do however get launched right over that railing, so you do have to be quite vigilant and your ninja skills must be on point or you will catch the occasional matchbox car or barbie doll to the head. We’re still working on that one 😅 #liketkit @liketoknow.it http://liketk.it/3icYm #LTKstyletip #LTKhome

Something that isn’t shown on here too often (mostly because Luke doesn’t like to stop and take pictures for me) is the fact that our lives basically revolve around cars that go fast 😜 And I don’t think a better Father’s Day exists for Luke than spending the day at the track. Unfortunately the kids and I missed him driving because of the rain, but everyone still had so much fun! Also, as you can see Rho has claimed Kyle as her new bestie! 🏎💨🏁

Let them be little 🤍 When they ask to play in the rain, all you can think about is the muddy trail they will leave behind… and the drenched clothes that you KNOW will be thrown on the floor when they come in.. But the smile on their faces while they play.. The excitement in their screams when they jump in the puddles.. Their out of this world imagination as they pretend to be captain of the sea with waves crashing down on them… You can just see the happiness radiating off off of their little bodies as they play in the rain.. It makes even the biggest mess completely worth it 😍 Let them be little 🤍 @liketoknow.it #liketkit http://liketk.it/3hTwq #LTKstyletip #LTKhome