See how good we're being?Having just returned from a trip with my kids, I've realized something: I am an awesome parent. As is my husband. After all, we just went halfway across the country with little incident. My two very small children were well-behaved(for the most part) and entertained their family members as they dined out all over a city filled with hipsters; without enraging wait staff, or child-free diners who just wanted to enjoy their margaritas in peace. Win!

Well, except for that one time when my son had just been woken up from his nap -- forcibly -- and had trouble getting over it. But that's because he didn't get enough sleep, and we frog-marched him into a restaurant when he just wanted to chill out in his car seat.

See how that works? That's a parent taking full credit for the good, but throwing out plenty of excuses for the bad. Nice, right?

I knew my daughter's time was running out. She's a challenging 3-year-old in so many ways, but she often gets away with her naughty behavior because she's do damn cute. I think that's the way it is with a lot of young children, which is a vicious cycle of sorts that feeds the terribleness of toddlers, no matter how hard we try to stop it. It's just hard to get too mad at those squishy little cheeks, innocent eyes, and squeaky little voices.

Even when they misbehave in public and parents endure the searing tsk tsk-ing of strangers, the general, overriding reaction is still, awww, aren't they adorable? Because, let's face it, they are. But that's not going to save them forever. Eventually the cuteness comes to an end, and now scientists are telling us exactly when.

Who doesn't love packing their kids into the old family roadster and heading out to a nice family dinner. The kids love it, parents love it, it's a great excuse not to cook, really, it's all around a whole lot of fun for everyone involved. Or, should I say, MOST everyone involved. Everyone loves a family dinner ... except the waitstaff.

Here are a number of ways you, too, can annoy the waitstaff at a family dinner:

It’s a hard place to be -- in public and with a toddler who is having a complete meltdown. You want to hide. You want it to stop but nothing works. Soothing is conditional at best. No one wants to be the monster caught on videotape screaming at their willful child to “Shut the f*ck Up!”

Well, now you don't have to be. Here are a few ways to stop those nasty tantrums dead in their tracks.

It’s a hard place to be -- in public and with a toddler who is having a complete meltdown. You want to hide. You want it to stop but nothing works. Soothing is conditional at best. No one wants to be the monster caught on videotape screaming at their willful child to “Shut the f*ck Up!”

Well, now you don't have to be. Here are a few ways to stop those nasty tantrums dead in their tracks.

Poor Dr. Colette Vieau. All she wanted was to return home from a vacation in Turks and Caicos with her two daughters and her husband. But 2-year-old Natalie would not sit belted into her seat (as per FAA regulations). And so the family was booted off the flight. That is, after Colette and her husband finally succeeded in wrestling Natalie down and getting her belted in.

It seems a little mean-spirited, don't you think? I mean, if you're going to kick a family off, don't wait until AFTER they get their kid under control. That just sounds like you're trying to make a point. The airline (JetBlue) should have had more compassion.

Or anyway, that's my "as a parent" perspective. That kind of changed when I saw the family in action on Today. Hmm, on second thought, maybe I would have booted them off, too.

We're very wise before we have children, aren't we? I know I definitely knew EVERYTHING about parenting before I ever even became pregnant. And I wasn't afraid to judge. Nope! I practically made judging parents an art, so enthusiastic a judger was I.

And then I crossed over to the other side. Wow, parenting sure does look different through the looking glass! It's so clear now: I didn't know JACK about parenting before I became a mom.

That's what blogger Karen Gebhart Uhl says. She just wrote an apology -- to all the parents she judged before she became a mom herself.

They call it the terrible twos for a reason, I suppose. I have two who are two -- yes, twins. Try not to wince, I promise it's wonderful (most of the time). Still, I guess that means two terribles. But they are terrifically terrible and totally trouble in the best way. And I've discovered that it's not only the kids that have a reign of terrible twos, it's the parents. We experience our own terrible time when our kids turn 2. I mean, it's just harder.

To all the twin parents who said it will get easier when our babies were just wee little babies, I now know what you were really doing. You were lying, giving us the pep talk to let us know we can get through it. You see, these kids ... they used to depend on me for food and cuddles and singing songs, and now they depend on me for all that and to save them from themselves. What I do most of the day is try to keep these little daredevils alive. You see, everything you feared about having a 2-year-old is true. Possibly even worse.