The Simplest Things

Making the party fit your needs

Making the party fit your needs

Planning a bash that keeps it fun for the kids (and stress-free for the parents)

Julia Garstecki

Raising a child with a special need certainly has its ups and downs. An impending birthday party, either for your child or a peer, can be a roller coaster ride of emotions for both you and your child. Will anybody show up? Will my child be able to participate? Will my child have a melt down? These concerns are all natural, but with creative planning and realistic expectations, your child can be a part of the fun.

Fit for an audience

Fit for an audience

Greatest Loser contestants get on the scale, letting Toledoans peek 
at the numbers

By Alia Orra

It's 6:30 in the evening on an uncharacteristically warm spring day and Christopher Wilbarger wants to weigh himself. He takes off his tennis shoes and steps on the scale gingerly as his audience observes him, some peering over his shoulder, others looking through the camera lens of an iPad, while still another stares from the television via live web chat. They have convened, the weight loss contestant and his small posse of spectators, to document his progress after a three month... Read more...

Claire's day Celebrates Books & Readng

Claire's day Celebrates Books & Reading

By Christine A. Holliday

Claire Rubini’s love of the written word has touched many lives. The young book lover died in 2000 at the age 10, and her mom and dad Julie and Brad established Claire’s Day Inc. to honor their daughter and her love of books. Each year over the course of a couple days they aim to inspire children and their families to be lifelong readers by exposing them to a multitude of book-related activities.