Road Trips with Kids

Do you take road trips or day trips with your kids? Over the weekend we decided to take a trip to my in-laws house in Pennsylvania. The trip usually takes a little less than two hours from where we live. It doesn’t seem like much but with four kids who have to go to the potty whenever they feel like, it’s harder than you think. We don’t make this trip often mainly because my husband is a very hard-working man. This guy works six days a week and averages 12 hour shifts. God bless him! He’s incredible. So when we do go, it is on his only day off and it takes all day. My kids love it there, they have a gorgeous inground pool, a nice big yard and they always show them how important they are.

For me it’s a little nerve-racking. We use the divide and conquer method, and it still takes us about an hour and 30 minutes just to get them all ready and in the car. We usually forget things so I have to keep going back-and-forth. The drive was longer this time, courtesy of New York and New Jersey traffic. It felt like forever, especially when you have kids that are very loud and a son who is sensitive to sounds. The entire trip he was stimming. Sometimes happily and others because there is something bothering him. So for two plus hours I have to play the guessing game. Does he have to go to the potty, is he thirsty, does he want a snack, is it too hot in the car, is it too cold in the car, are one of his sisters bothering him, I mean the list goes on. And I usually have no idea what to do most of the time. So by the time we get there the kids are irritated, I’m irritated and my poor husband is just trying to keep us all together. But then they are out of the car and the kids are happy and OK.

For me, it feels like so much is going on. There’s four of them, I only have two eyes and even with my husband, we do not sit down. We are constantly getting up checking to see if all the kids are accounted for. My son will look for any opportunity to jump in the pool. Any opportunity to run outside. And the two little ones will touch everything, and go places they shouldn’t be. God forbid a pen or marker has been left out because they are quick at creating a few Picasso drawings on every wall. And you have to worry about did someone accidentally leave the door unlocked was the garage door left open. For me my son is a constant on my mind, I’m not at peace unless I know where he is because it’s very easy to get too relaxed and loose track of him.

We decided to go apple picking so that the kids could get some fresh air and I could get some apples to make some treats. The kids had a great time, we all had a great time, it was a nice end to a frustrating morning. I didn’t get any pictures of the kids because I was too busy picking fruits and vegetables but that’s OK.

Every other year we just load up all these apples. Then I’m stuck making like 10 pies and giving them away, because we can’t eat all those apples. Not this year, we were a bit more selective and we didn’t overdo it on the apples. We did overdo it on the hot peppers but that’s OK. There’s apples for salads, which my husband is a big fan of. There are baking apples, perfect for me. And then there are eating apples.

After spending a few hours at the farm we head back to my in-laws to hang out with the family. My mother-in-law usually makes something for dinner. She’s good at making sure my husband is fed while in her home. Definitely a Middle Eastern mom trait. It doesn’t matter if he tells her not to do it, she still will. Which works out for me because she’s actually a really good cook.

The drive back is usually easier. The kids usually pass out and sleep the whole drive home. What sucks is that they wake up as soon as we get home. So they’ve essentially just taken a two-hour nap. And now we are up until 1 AM until they finally go to sleep for the night. The next morning is usually rough. Because one of us, either me or my husband has just been up all night and we both have to get up to start our Monday. I couldn’t do it this time. I was out, as soon as my body hit the bed. Again God Bless him, my husband stayed up with the two monsters so I could get some rest.

In the end it is nice to get out of New York and see how beautiful the other states are, but it is a mission when you have kids. Hopefully one day things will get easier and we will be able to go on more road trips. Because they used to be one of my favorite things to do. Just get in the car and go was kind of my thing. Not anymore. I don’t know if it’s the level my anxiety gets at, when driving with the kids, or just the idea of the anxiety I will have from driving with the kids. I can not go for long drives anymore it’s just not for me, right now.

So now what do you do with all the apples you just picked. Apple pie is my favorite pie to make. I like it because there’s so many different ways to do it and still come out with a great pie.

For the pie crust, you’ll need to combine 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of sugar. Cut two sticks of very cold butter into cubes and toss them into the flour mixture. Make sure to coat all the butter cubes with flour before using a pastry cutter to chop up the cubes into the flour. You can use a food processor for this part but I like to do it by hand. After the butter is well incorporated into the flour, you are going to add 2-3 tablespoons of ice water, one tablespoon at a time until the dough is moist and can be formed into a dough ball. I then split the dough into two and wrap with Saran wrap and keep in the fridge for at least two hours.

For the pie filling I used 3 medium sized apples and sliced them super thin. Added 1/4 a cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and some lemon zest. Combine well. Place in pot and cook the apples until they are tender and all the sugar has melted and thickened up. About 10 minutes on low heat.

You will need to let the pie dough sit out for 5-10 minutes before rolling it out. Roll out the first ball of dough and place inside your pie pan. Try not to take too long with this part, you want the butter to stay cold and not melt too much. You can use the second ball of dough to decorate the top of your pie any way you like. I love the lattice look. It makes it feel fancy.

I used a 7 inch pie pan for this pie so I had more dough than I would if I made a 9” standard pie. So I decided to add some more details to the top of the pie. I used a rose fondant mold and leaf cookie cutters to create the design on top of the lattice design. I also twisted some strips together to create a more detailed crust.

How do you like your Apple Pie?