I'm Serious. I Mean It. Seriously.

Who am I kidding?  I have a really hard time keeping a straight face when I have to be the "mean mom" and enforce the rules around our house.  Ideally, I'd like to leave my boys quaking in their boots when they know they'll have to suffer my wrath if they've done something wrong.  Unfortunately that pretty much never happens no matter how mean I try to be.
For instance, the other day Bean was playing in his room instead of doing his morning jobs, thus making him late for preschool.  I told him to sit in Time Out.  He started to cry and whine and I responded in my sternest voice, "Well, if you hadn't been dancing around naked in front of the mirror with your underwear on your head, you wouldn't be sitting in Time Out!"
Did I really just say that?  Yes, I did.  (And he really was dancing around with underwear on his head.  You'd be surprised how often that happens.)  I had to quickly leave the room so he wouldn't see me laughing my head off.  So much for the mean mom who strikes fear in the hearts of her children.
Randy isn't much better either.  Well, actually he does just fine but my reactions are the problem.   The other day he was reprimanding the boys and for his big finale, he said, "Do I make myself clear?!"
I think I snorted out loud when I heard that, making it very hard for Randy to keep a straight face which ruined the I-am-Dad-hear-me-roar affect he was hoping for.
Being a parent can be very entertaining.  At least in our house.  It's only a matter of time before the boys figure out just how un-serious their parents really are.