Two Convention Questions--Can you help?

[lovemywhirlygirls]

I would like your recommendations for sturdy & not-so-expensive convention roller box thingys. Don't you love my technical terms? :lol: You know, the deals that you put all of your purchases in so you don't break your back. What's your favorite, where did you get it and about how much was it? THANKS.

 

Also, I'll be traveling with a good friend who is breast feeding. I was trying to think of some food/snack items to bring to keep our energy up (and save money) and wondered about protein drinks. (Easy to carry etc.) Are there any delicious ones that you love that would be appropriate for a nursing mom? Definitely no caffeine. Looking for something healthy. I have never bought anything like this, but would love your thoughts.

 

Thanks, All!

[G5052]

I own two rolling carts, both bought at Staples but I've seen them at the other big office supply stores and on Amazon (search for "teacher cart"). One has a top and a side pocket. I actually prefer that one, but I tend to use the other one for co-op because I take bulkier things there.

 

As for protein drinks, I've never found one I liked. Sorry, they all taste yuk to me. I'm more of a string cheese or yogurt type of person.

Edited March 30, 2010 by GVA

[Kate CA]

I would like your recommendations for sturdy & not-so-expensive convention roller box thingys. Don't you love my technical terms? :lol: You know, the deals that you put all of your purchases in so you don't break your back. What's your favorite, where did you get it and about how much was it? THANKS.

 

 

I bought one right at the convention once and when that wore out (we used it as our library box and it was used hard!) we bought one from Costco. It is supposed to be for crafts and has a lot of outside pockets. It has been very sturdy and worth the $. JoAnn's for sure and probably Michael's also sell them.

 

Can't help on the protein drinks! :D

Edited March 30, 2010 by Kate CA

[jonesloonybin]

We bought ours at the convention at the Rainbow Resource stall. It was great!

[Harriet Vane]

I use a cheap carry-on sized rolling suitcase. I can usually find one somewhere for between $10-$20.

[Denise in IN]

I'm planning to use a rolling carry-on bag as well. They did have the rolling crates at the Rainbow Resource booth last year, but be prepared to stand in line if you want to purchase from RR - it seemed like there was always a long linethere.

 

As far as protein drinks, I agree with GVA -it's hard to find tasty ones, especially pre-made! I like protein bars - Clif Mojo bars are my absolute favorite, but regular Clif bars and Luna bars are also decent. They're pretty easy to find - I can get them at Target, Kroger, and Meijer here.

 

Other food suggestions would be string cheese/crackers, trail mix, nuts, peanuts/raisins/m&m's mix, or just peanut m&m's :). You can also get little packets of tuna that even come with a little knife and crackers.

[Mrs Mungo]

One thing about protein drinks-they are so high in protein and sodium that they are hard on your kidneys. I don't think I'd recommend them for a nursing mom. Plus, they are yucky.

 

I think string cheese, almond butter, hummus, etc are better high-protein choices.

[lauracolumbus]

Thanks for the reminder about the scrapbooking cart being turned into a curriculum cart. I should probably pack it now so I don't forget it.

 

As for protein drinks, I like EAS low carb. It did take some getting used to, but I like them better than protein bars. LARA bars are supposed to be the healthiest I believe. Snickers will work just as nicely. :tongue_smilie:

 

Laura

[SonshineLearner]

I found one that accepts files... If I purchase another, I'll do that. Also, sometimes there are ones at the conventions with the pouches that fit into and over the box. I like the ones with lids...

And yes about taking something more like Kefir... string cheese... raisins... other dried fruit. At Safeway they have something like these "fruit nibs" that are berry?? or tropical fruit..... and they have no sugar... In our store they are in the produce dept. They are SO good...

 

:)

[TechWife]

You can purchase them at office supply stores - Office Max, Staples and Office Depot all carry them. The fabric pockets that hang over them are called "aprons" and you can get them at a teacher supply store or at the Rainbow Resources booth at convention. They actually add a lot of capacity to the cart because you have places to put smaller things without taking up space in the center of the cart. My catalogs, shopping lists, wallet, etc. all go in the outside pockets. I also have a mesh pocket for drinks - it will hold a large bottle or a cup w/lid.

[lovemywhirlygirls]

Great tips, Ladies! Thanks!

 

Thanks for the food ideas as well. It's been a while since I breastfed, so your tips are appreciated.

 

Next Thursday can't come fast enough. I'm traveling with a great group of women and I'm looking forward to the time on multiple levels. I need a bit of a break right about now. :D

[PeterPan]

The convention always has them, so I'd just buy there. They now have them with lids to sit on, an added bonus.

 

For snacks, bananas are awesome. She should know, and I'm just being blunt as someone who has been pregnant or nursing the last three Cincy conventions (and gets very hungry), the convention totally flops on food. She needs not only to plan her snacks, but all her meals. Believe you me I have mine all planned out, every single one, down to the time slot on the schedule! They don't like you to bring food into the hall, which I understand. But last year I stood in line at the one of *2* small concessions stands they had in the vendor hall, facing choices of either hotdogs or an ice smoothie, only to find out the stinkin places had run out of food!!! I can't say enough about how badly the food has flopped every year. One year they had no food till someone popped out a grill and some GFS burgers. The next year they had sandwhiches (homemade, on bread, looked nice actually) but long, long lines. And last year they ran out of food. Oh, or you could eat Starbucks in the lobby, big whoop.

 

So between the toddler, who of course has to eat or go crazy, and me, let's just say we're going loaded, lol. We'll have bananas for our morning snack, water bottles, fruit leather and boxed juices for the afternoon. Frozen grapes in baggies, snack bars for emergencies. If you're staying at the Millenium, it's close enough to bop back, trade out your stuff, and eat a can of soup. In fact, I would highly recommend she bring some pop open cans of soup. They'll fill in if she gets hungry at 10 pm after the Tim Hawkins thing, etc. It's a long time from dinner to morning if you're walking the whole day!

 

Some years I've taken trail mix, and it doesn't hold me, just makes me munchier. Bananas and cans of soup that pop open. Oh, for lunch you can go down to the fountain square and get Chipotle. It's really heavy and holds you. You might even break up and just send one of your friends to buy for the whole group. This is little, but I found it a challenge last year to get my then 9 yo *and* a stroller across those bumpy intersections in time for the lights. My dd tripped, or the stroller would hang up, or... But maybe it was just the cross-dressing male prostitute at the square at 5 o'clock that was making me uncomfortable, lol.

 

Nursing at the convention is fine. They have a room I guess, but I never went. I kept a blanket with me and sat off to the side in all the talks. People probably remember seeing my little one crawl around, hehe. In any case, there's PLENTY of room to sit to the side in the larger rooms. Even in the smaller rooms you can sit in the back or crack the door and be in the hall. So the baby can play on the blanket, or you whip it up and use it to nurse. As long as they're quiet, nobody minds.

 

And I'll tell you what Sandy in Indy told me last year: Don't forget people are willing to hold your baby! Seriously, it gets tiring to be the only one watching your precious, and they're more than willing to help. I even had total STRANGERS, bless their souls, come up and hold my baby so I could eat in a restaurant. How sweet is that! (I'm looking forward to seeing those people at the convention btw. :) )

 

I got a collapsible stroller for the convention last year, and it was a great investment. Mine is a MacLaren, but they make all types. You can get an accessory that hangs from the handle bars and holds more stuff. I kept diapers, papers, keys, that type thing in there. So between that and the under stroller storage and the rolling cart, we were fine. The stroller was not a problem most of the time in the hall or rooms, saving a few where we did sit in the hall with the door open. The main problem was those intersections. You have to go fast to cross the street, and hauling two kids just isn't fast!

 

Have fun. I know we're crazy excited too. I went with a girlfriend one year, and that was tons of fun. Make sure you go to some life-changing talks. Pudewa's stuff is all good, even if you never plan to use IEW.

Edited April 2, 2010 by OhElizabeth