An old girlfriend from high school visits Joe and he invites to spend the night. Matt accidentally sees the girl get out of the shower, causing Claire to tell Joe he is setting a bad example for the younger boys. Andy, meanwhile, can't face telling Claire that he isn't ready to go to a sleepover birthday party at a neighbor's house and winds up sneaking downstairs to Joe's room to avoid his mother, ending up spending the evening with Joe's girlfriend instead.
Claire has butterflies as she prepares for a first date. So do Matt and Andy, who fear that a newcomer will replace their dad.
Joe and Lou agree to be ""just friends"" and date others, but Joe fumes when Lou's ""other person"" is someone he doesn't know -- and then he unwittingly asks out Lou's best friend. Puppeteer Marc Weiner appears as himself.
Lou has some modern art she wants to take to the museum. So Joe helps her carry her work. A woman sees the artwork & thinks Joe did it. So he impresses her by doing some last minute art with help from Andy. Then Joe confesses that the artwork's Lou & not his & that all of these masterpieces were nothing at all. Also, Matt takes up playing the guitar & wants to write a song. Matt tries to find inspiration by his surroundings. When their garbageman Leo pays a visit, Andy tells him he's got a pigeon on his car. Then Matt comes up with a very bad song.