The Birth of a Kid Cave

Our house is and probably always will be a constant work in progress. When we moved in to our house, the 3rd bedroom became a storage room, Christian’s closet, and part office. All of the clutter quickly got moved out once I found out I was pregnant. Christian’s clothes have been shifted to our bedroom and a hall closet. The office stuff joined the rest of the office stuff in our unused front room. The junk also found its way to the front room.  Chet’s room was officially ready to be a nursery.

While Chet’s room was ready, the rest of the house turned into a war zone. The front room, the first room you see when you walk into our house, turned into a storage unit. I had dreams of turning that room into my library slash office slash yoga space. With an extra two thousand dollars, I know I could have made it beautiful. Since we don’t have an extra two thousand dollars lying around, the room never evolved. It remained a storage space.

Day after day, I’ve come home. I walk into our house. I’m greeted by crap! Piles of office stuff, piles of legos, piles of old photos, piles of books have all screamed hello to me everyday when I walk in our front door. If you have a pile of crap greeting you when you come home, get rid of it. It is not a stress-free way to transition from work to a family evening. I needed the clutter gone.

I stared at the room. I sat on our steps and waited for the room to reveal its true identity to me. All I wanted to see was a peaceful room with bamboo floors and yoga mats surround by my favorite books and a cozy couch. And then the room decided for itself that it did want to be my tranquil space but not through books and yoga. The room was begging to provide me sanity by making it a play room.

On Saturday morning, the true vision of my front room became clear. The room would provide me with tranquility by designated a certain space in our house as keeper of the kids stuff. All the office stuff could be moved to a tucked away corner in our long family room. All the extra crap could find its way to the garage and goodwill. My books could be moved to the hallway. The toys that are scattered in EVERY SINGLE ROOM in our house could find their way to the front room. A Kid’s Cave was born.

Christian and his dad quickly got to work on Sunday morning. The TV that had been sitting in the corner for a year was mounted to the wall. The toy storage that was in our family room was moved upstairs. The office desk and supplies took the storage bins place in our living room. The book shelf was moved upstairs. The final icing on the cake was the couch and the chair. Good family friends have been holding onto their old cargo furniture couch and chair for us since they moved into their new home. Christian had plans to put them in our garage to create a man cave. The kid cave decided for itself that it deserved the furniture instead of the garage.  We picked the couch up on Sunday afternoon and the kid cave came to life.

Our front room, a room with no purpose but a huge presence in our house, finally has an identity. It’s cozy and inviting. It’s fun and comfortable. It doesn’t scream play room yet everything in the room is kid friendly. I’m in love. It was the missing piece to our house.  Giving meaning to that one room in our house has enhanced the meaning of every other room.

The benefits of giving up my dream yoga library for a family playroom has given me more peace than any yoga practice can offer. Cole now has a place to play with friends, play Wii, and be a crazy 7-year-old away from the rest of the family. I can watch Wheel of Fortune (yes! I watch it every night!) and he can build legos or play Pokémon. His friends can come over and I can sit on the couch without being in the middle of the play. What has me even more excited is what it will offer us in the next few months. The playroom is completely open to our kitchen. If I’m cooking, Chet can be in the play room and I’ll be able to see him. If I’m nursing Chet downstairs, Cole can escape to his playroom. If Chet is napping in the family room, Cole can be hyper in the playroom.

Although the bamboo floors and yoga mats and stacks of books make my heart happy, the kid cave makes my heart sing. Our house feels even more like a home now that our boys have room to grow and play and be kids (without stepping on their parents’ toes).

AND….the Kid Cave didn’t cost me a penny. We used things we already have in our house. Even my bank account is happy!