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:

Did you hear the one about the mom who got her two picky eaters to love vegetables? Not just eat -- LOVE vegetables. True story. Karen Le Billon had a toddler and a 4-year-old on the "white foods" diet who ate more during snack time than during meals. So she tried a little experiment to see if she could get them to change in a year -- and it worked, mamas. It freakin' worked!

Just one little thing: The experiment involved moving the whole family to France. Hey, who said this was easy? Karen and her family lived there for a year, where she had her whole food world turned upside-down and came up with her own 10 common sense, life-changing "food rules." Her book is called French Kids Eat Everything. And they do. But Karen's rules are meant for the rest of us living here on the other side of the ocean.

Are you wondering how you get your kids to eat everything? Here are Karen's 10 rules.

Does your toddler want a cappuccino? No, let me rephrase that. Does your toddler need a cappuccino? Because we can make one special for them. A little steamed milk, a shot of decaf espresso, a boardbook edition of À la recherche du temps perdu with pictures and you've got your tot primed for cafe life!

No really, this is a thing: It's called a babyccino, and supposedly they're a hit with the Brooklyn parents. Not the ones I know. I don't know where they find these people, actually. But apparently parents all over my fair borough are ordering these drinks off the menu for their kiddies. Because that's what every toddler needs, right?

If your kids seem to enjoy breakfast more than any other meal of the day, why not start their birthday off with a bang? No, you don't have to send out the Evite for 8:00 a.m., or go to the pony rides at the crack of dawn. There are much easier ways to celebrate a kid birthday party in the early morning hours.

In fact, some fantastic advantages to throwing a breakfast birthday party include, but are not limited to: Easy clean-up, small crowds, lots of inexpressive options, and everyone will want to nap in the afternoon.

Here are five ways you can throw your toddler a fantastic breakfast birthday party:

The more I learn about how most of our food is made nowadays, the more cautious I've become about what I feed my son. The phrase "processed food" has taken on such a sinister tone in my mind I feel guilty whenever I pull that innocent box of mac'n cheese off the shelf. Only bad mommies feed their precious ones the evil processed food...

But I have my exceptions. Don't we all? I mean, the whole idea of processed food is that it's been kinda fixed-up for you already so you're prepared for those moments when your growing toddler is suddenly, randomly starving and has to be fed RIGHT NOW or there will be a melt-down. So what's on my "mom-approved" list?

Ah breakfast, the most important meal of the day. When it comes to toddlers, however, it can also become one of the most frustrating meals of the day. You want them to start the day off right, but sometimes, nothing just seems right enough for them to eat.

At my house, the biggest problem is the dreaded rut. We get in the habit of putting a rotation of the same things on our kids' plates each morning -- Greek yogurt, cereal, fruit, whole wheat waffles, and some turkey sausages. After awhile I even get bored of making it. Fortunately, whether you're dealing with a picky eater or just want to add a little extra fun to your morning, there are plenty of ways to take breakfast and make it even better. Here are six fun things to try:

Every time my daughter scooted out the door in the morning without a lick of food in her tummy, I could hear my own mother's voice in the back of my head. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day," she intones. Yup, and I'm shooting for mother of the year, I was thinking.

This used to be my life: petulant toddler facing breakfast like it's a cowboy in the OK Corral and she's Wyatt Earp. That bowl of cereal was not going down without a fight. But lest my mother think I never listened to her, I righted the ship. My kid may not want to go to bed at night, but at least she wakes up ready to eat.

Want to make this miracle happen in your house? Here's how:

Eating breakfast alone is such a bore. I mean, who wants to sit there with no one for company but a boring old bowl of cereal and bananas? Lame. Problem is, Mommy and Daddy are only marginally better company than the box of Kix. They just drink coffee and stare into space like zombies.

If only I had a breakfast buddy. Somebody fun. Some kind of animal, yeah! That would be awesome. I know, a bunny rabbit! Nah, it would hop all over the table and that would get old fast. Maybe a puppy? Eh, I don't know if I want to deal with all the begging. I'm so cute, feed me, whimper whimper! I've got the "cute" thing covered in this house, dog.

So what I really need is an animal that's ugly. And won't hop or fly or beg ...