The Basement or should I say "The Man Cave"

Let me start with the room I am not suppose to go into ... "the man cave".

Our full unfinished basement has been turned into a ping pong arena that would make the creators of "Balls of Fury" jealous. Kevin made and painted the table with Kris and Dan. He wired and installed lights over the table. Every Saturday we have "family night" with my side of the family and they have some pretty intense games. Patrick has even gotten into it. For the people not playing, they have a "lounge" complete with a love seat, recliner, rug, TV and video game console. Kevin also installed a chin up bar to go along with our Chuck Norris Total Gym. There is also a wood stove down there for heat. The boys all enjoy "starting the fire" and "putting another log on it". I think it has something to do with the torch involved in the process.

When we first moved into the house, Kevin built the largest workbench ever! He has completed many projects at that bench. He also has had a lot of fun with Kris and Dan there. They have had contests to see who can build the best pine wood derby car, the bridge that can hold the most weight, an egg protector for eggs to be dropped from our roof, as well as school projects. Kevin also built shelves, because God forbid I have rubbermaid tubs sitting around the basement. Silly me, I thought the basement was for storage - the boys (Kev, Kris and Dan) tell me I am just a woman with a small brain and I wouldn't know the real purpose of a basement! The only time I am allowed down there is to do laundry (which I did get a new washer and dryer a year and a half ago).

I irritate Kevin by tossing the recyclable bottles from the top step to the basement and then setting Hank loose on them! Hank has fun and I don't always have time to run down the steps with two babies upstairs! Oops, I made the mistake again thinking it was just a basement!

All joking aside, Kevin has saved us a lot of money by making things for our house down there. When you look at the pictures of our completed rooms, he made all the moldings from knotty pine boards that he routered and painted. In both of the kids rooms, he made the chair rail from knotty pine boards, and wainscotting from pine wall planks. These completed materials cost a fortune at lowes or home depot and we wouldn't have been able to fit them in our budget. He has a tile saw so that he can do all the tile for our house. He made window ledges for the windows so at Christmas we can have electric candles in every window.

I could go on and on about his talents. I am so lucky to have him. My Dad told me once (in a rare moment when I forgot and needed to be reminded) that you don't always find someone as talented as Kevin is with working with his hands. Kevin is a "catch".

So I guess I will end by counting my blessings for my husband's talents and being thankful that my teenage brothers would rather be in my "man cave" than out on the street or drinking at parties.