You say I'm crazy like it's a bad thing.

I we are potty training AND sleep training Pickles...at.the.same.time. Oh, and I'm also supposed to make sure he ditches his pacifier or as he calls it, "nu-nu" by his second birthday. When is his second birthday you ask? In two weeks!

Potty training is going super-fab. The first week of me us putting him on the potty, he absolutely refused. He'd pitch a fit and say that he was the baby and that he wanted to wear diapers. Fine, whatever. I'd always heard boys were more difficult. BRING IT, SON!

Monday of last week I went to pick up the kids. The sitter gives me an odd look, looks at Pickles and says, "Tell Mommy what you did." Crap, what did he do? Ruin your favorite dress? Burn down your kitchen?

Pickles looks up at me, smiles and says, "I potty." Pretty much ever since that point he's been in big boy underwear. The only occasional accident we have is with going #2 tmi? sorry.

Pickles has always been my difficult sleeper. The twins? Slept like champs. I think that was God trying to give me a break.

I searched the Internet looking at various techniques. Some just didn't suit me us. I found SuperNanny's Sleep Separation Technique to be the right fit. I started last night, bracing myself for the, excuse me, shitstorm of the century. Surprisingly enough, it was merely and afternoon shower of a fit. Hey now, this just might work!

As you know baking is my happy place. It de-stresses me. The only problem is that pesky weight issue that I'm still fighting. My solution is to make things I can give away. Mostly I bring my goodies to work. No, not THOSE goodies, well, yes, well I do bring those with me as they're part of me...where was I???

Oh yes, baking. This weekend I baked up some super-fab cookies. They're a twist on the traditional sugar cookie that has a bit more adult flavor. Note: Pickles stole just as many of these cookies as he would any other cookie. They're kid tested. Found the recipe in an ad in a magazine.

Toasted Sesame Cookies

2 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Cup toasted sesame seeds, divided

2 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate, melted (Optional)

*you can buy already toasted sesame seeds but I had bulk quantities of plain sesame seeds. I toasted them in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir them every so often and when they start to get a nice toasted color, remove from heat.

Directions:1. Mix flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add sugar; beat until well blended, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture and 1/4 cup of the toasted sesame seed on low speed until well mixed.
2. Refrigerate dough 2 hours or until firm.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in remaining 3/4 cup toasted sesame seed. Place 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheet.
4. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets 1 minute. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

The original recipe said bake @ 400 but I found that my cookies browned too quickly without the middles setting up, so I reduced the temperature. The original also said to drizzle with melted chocolate. The Dude's opininon was to leave them plain so I obliged. Besides, adding chocolate would just make me want to eat them even more.