Today we're celebrating Martin's birthday - and for the second year in a row, we're going bowling.


For a few weeks now, I've been thinking about what to do for Martin's party and I've mentally been bucking against the kid birthday party trends - namely themes and gift bags.  I buck against them in the same way that I do things like buying Kindergarten Yearbooks and calling getting together with friends a "playdate".  I do them anyway, but inside wonder what ever happened to a birthday party theme called "Hey, it's my birthday" and secretly blame Martha Stewart for promoting the trend that everyone deserves a Good Thing as a reminder of the Good Time you just had together.

So, with Martha on my mind and Martin in my heart - we made gift bags and filled them with treasures - candy, a CD with some of Martin's favorite songs (the ones that made the "appropriate for Grade K" cut), and rock n' roll-style (according to Martin) tattoos, then tied the whole thing up with shoelaces.


Rock n' roll or not, this tattoo is going to be on Martin's arm for 1-4 days, depending on how much soap he uses over the next few days:


Should you want the playlist and (un)limited edition cover art, feel free to download and print - Bowl-A-Rama: Age 6.

It's almost Martin's birthday, and that's a Good Thing.