Very serious!!

I can't remember what I was telling Shea the other day, but I was very, very serious. (Maybe it was about, looking both ways before crossing the street, not talking to strangers, or eating all mom's tootsie rolls. I can't remember. Anyway...) So I vaguely recall saying, "... and mister, I am dead serious about that!!!" To which he replied, "What does that mean?" I said that it means that I am very, very serious about this. End of story.
Until later that day when he wanted to go outside right that minute and he looked at me with a very serious face and said "Mom, I want to go out right now, and I am TED SERIOUS!"
I wanted to scold for talking like that to his mom, but I couldn't stop laughing. So now, he's Ted serious about everything!!