When the Woodcocks and the Starks go out for a thank-you dinner, Joy yearns for more romance from Eddie and asks him why she never received the engagement ring she was promised. With a little help from Jeff, Eddie gives Joy a ring, which she reluctantly accepts - but grows to love in her own special way.

Jeff is thrilled when his mother comes for a visit, but tension builds between him and Steph when he chooses his mother over her. Jeff goes to his neighbors for help, but ends up more conflicted than ever. Between Joy insisting he send his mom home and Eddie instructing him to secretly make his mom No. 1, Jeff must learn the delicate art of balancing the women in his life.

Steph and Jeff convince Eddie and Joy to join them for a getaway in the mountains, but when Steph tells Jeff she had an erotic dream about Eddie, their vacation is anything but relaxing for the Woodcocks.

Eddie and Joys daughter, Allison, comes home for the holidays to celebrate New Years with her parents. When she gets some bad news from her boyfriend, Allison turns to her mother for help, leaving a snubbed Eddie perplexed. At the Woodcocks New Year's Eve party, Eddie lightens up his mood to impress his daughter, but as the clock strikes midnight and a new year begins, Allison realizes she likes her "big, dark, angry, wonderful dad" just the way he is.

While attending Vicki and Stan's 25th anniversary party, Joy can't help feeling jealous at the attention Stan pays to his wife. Eddie gets advice from Stan about his role in the marriage. Jeff is embarrassed by Steph's dancing.

When the guys discover that Jeff never had a bachelor party, they have a boys night out at a local club. But when Nicole tags along with Cofeld, the guys night doesn't turn out as they planned. Meanwhile, Joy is sick at home and Steph comes over with a special recipe to help them both feel better.

When Eddie and Joy visit Allison for parents weekend, they share a dorm room with a partying single father. When Allison lets them know her new major and next semesters plans, Eddie and Joy try their best to convince her to do otherwise but realize that their own mistakes led them to where they are today. Meanwhile, Jeff hires someone to help Steph tile the bathroom, which brings out the worst in her.

Steph gives Eddie and Joy a cappuccino maker that was a wedding gift from Jeffs mom. Joy loves the gift, but Eddie soon begins to resent Joy for not learning how to work the machine herself. When Eddie refuses to make Joy her nightly cappuccino, she makes a list of all the things she does around the house and comes to the conclusion that Eddie doesn't do enough.

When Joy and Allison (guest star Krysten Ritter) meet for Spring Break in Florida, Eddie is thrilled to have the house to himself where he can eat, sleep, wear whatever he wants and hang out with Cofeld (guest star Anthony Anderson). But when the week doesnt go exactly as planned, Eddie realizes how much he misses Joy. Meanwhile, Joy and Allison arent missing Eddie too much as they work-it on the beach.

When one of Eddies single idols comes for a visit, Eddie is in awe, while Joy is unimpressed by Webbys (guest star Ted McGinley) lifestyle of wild adventures and exotic travels. To Joy, Webby is running away from the one thing that can make him truly happy: a committed relationship. Ignoring Eddies warnings, Joy sets Webby up with Denise (guest star Tricia Fisher), who tames Webbys ways. When Webby is ready to settle down, Denise lets Joy know that shes not interested. Meanwhile, Jeff is miserable at the sight of his crying wife in an incredibly ugly shirt. Later, summer vacation has begun and Allison (guest-star Krysten Ritter) surprises her parents when she brings Doug (guest-star Tim Sharp) home. When Allison and Doug spend their days enjoying the summer, Steph convinces Eddie to join them. Meanwhile, Jeff and Joy feel left out and annoyed by their partners happiness but finally get convinced to join in.

Summer vacation has begun and Allison surprises her parents when she brings Doug (guest-star Timm Sharp) home. When Allison and Doug spend their days enjoying the summer, Steph gets Eddie to join them. Jeff and Joy feel left out and annoyed by their partners happiness but finally are persuaded to join in.

When Eddie thinks Joy made a fool of herself at Steph's birthday party he decides it is time to tell her about her irritating habits. She lets him know about his own irritating habits. Steph isn't happy when Jeff gives her a gift she has wanted for a long time.

Eddie and Joy feel left out when they are the only neighbors not included in an elderly neighbor's funeral. After Joy is asked to sing Eddie feeling jealous, tries to find something for him to do also. Steph and Jeff disagree about the eulogy Steph is planning to give.

Jeff recruits Eddie for a faculty basketball team, but Eddie has a secret despite his height he is terrible at the sport. This is a problem because Eddie lied to Joy about his supposed prowess while they were dating, and he never told her the truth.

Steph decides that she wants to watch an adult video with Jeff, who has never seen one, so he asks his colleagues at school for advice. That's how Eddie gets into trouble with Joy, who is in no mood for nonsense following a disastrous visit to the gym.

When Steph introduces Eddie to yoga and Jeff turns Joy on to tennis, the couples spend more and more time with their friends and less time with each other. The swap seems successful until Jeff's competitive streak emerges and Joy tries to bow out of tennis lessons.

Eddie & Joy prepare for Jeff’s birthday dinner. Eddie doesn’t want to give lingerie as a gift. Eddie decides to give his own gift. At the birthday dinner with a few other couples, Eddie orders 2 desserts for himself. Steph tries on the lingerie. Jeff feels like Eddie doesn’t pay any attention to him. Jeff’s feelings are hurt when he realizes only Joy gave him the gift. Steph gives up on trying having a romantic evening. Eddie gets a perfect bottle of wine for Jeff which Jeff likes. Joy finds out that Eddie gave Jeff a special $1,000.00 bottle of wine she’d been keeping in their house. Eddie and Joy try to get the bottle of wine back and Jeff finally realizes that Eddie is trying to retrieve it. Joy and Eddie get kicked out of the Woodcock’s house, but Jeff eventually gives the bottle of wine back and the two of them bond over a shared drink.

To avoid doing housework with Joy, Eddie signs up to be a volunteer for a "Big Brother" program but things go awry when he's accidentally given an adult instead of a kid to mentor.

When Kenny is subjected to a perceived racist slight at a local movie theater, he reacts strongly causing Eddie to rush to his defense. In the aftermath, Eddie decides that Kenny over-reacted and resolves to prove it to him.

When Eddie's friend Karl introduces him to his second wife, Eddie becomes jealous of Karl's relaxed marriage and convinces Joy that they should try out a "second marriage." Joy has her own ideas of how a "second marriage" should be causing Eddie to re-think his suggestion

Eddie and Joy's daughter, Allison, comes home from college for a visit. She and her hippie boyfriend argue and decide to break up, which is fine with Eddie until he finds out that Doug is wealthy. Eddie and Joy then try to get the two back together by inviting Doug over for an organic dinner feast. Meanwhile, Kenny just wants them to get back together so he can get his bedroom back.

Kenny freaks out after losing his swim trunks at a water park and his new girlfriend notices he isn't circumcised. When he decides to go under the knife, Joy is impressed by his efforts to please a girl he hardly knows and badgers Eddie to do more nice things for her. Eddie tries to get Kenny to back out of his decision so he won't have to accompany Joy to six weeks of musicals in the park and takes him to a bris so he can see what circumcision looks like.

Joy discovers that Eddie has been hiding his favorite meatball-sandwich shop from her. This helps her come to the realization that they can't keep secrets from each other anymore because they've been married so long and seem to know everything about each other. Meanwhile, Steph's comments about her less-than-mysterious marriage prompt Joy to propose that she and Eddie come up with a new secret in hopes of spicing things up.

When Eddie and Joy try to live without complaining, Eddie finds that repressing his true feelings makes him sick. Meanwhile, Kenny creates problems for parents when he works as a mall Santa.

Joy's fun and beautiful new friend Eileen also happens to be Eddie's ex-girlfriend. At first, the friendship doesn't seem to be a problem until Joy invites Eileen over to the house and Eddie gets himself in trouble by reminiscing a little too fondly about the past. Meanwhile, Kenny thinks he's doing something nice for his new girlfriend by babysitting her kids, but doesn't realize she may be using him.

When Joy urges Eddie to get a check-up from their doctor, Simona (Susan Yeagley), Eddie becomes enamored with her and her husband, Stephen (Kevin Nealon), and their seemingly perfect life. Joy becomes annoyed when Eddie becomes ardent about taking Simona's advice, even though Joy has been nagging him for years, and decides to prove to Eddie that Simona isn't as perfect as she seems.

When Joy goes overboard planning Ally and Doug's wedding, Eddie convinces them to elope. Kenny agrees to officiate the ceremony, but when Joy finds out about their plans she persuades Eddie to help her stop the wedding.

When Allison's boyfriend Doug is hospitalized, she rushes to his bedside only to be surprised with a proposal. No one is more surprised by their daughter's engagement than Eddie and Joy who plot to put the brakes on wedding planning. Meanwhile, Kenny tries to get Eddie's car repaired without success.

When Joy and Eddie experiment with role-playing to spice up their love life, they realize that pretending to be someone else isn't as sexy as being themselves. Meanwhile, to supplement his income, Kenny tries finding lost dogs to collect the reward money.

Eddie and Joy make the wrong impression on a newlywed couple while on vacation and Joy goes out of her way to try and convince the young bride that wedded life is bliss and not how they made it seem. Meanwhile, Kenny and Doug start spending time together, and Allison becomes jealous of their new friendship.

With Eddie's brother, Charlie, and his new boyfriend, Terence, coming to visit, Eddie isn't exactly looking forward to a weekend of wine-tasting and antiquing. Much to Eddie's surprise, though, he hits it off with Terence as they both opt to watch football over participating in the planned weekend activities. When Charlie breaks up with Terence, Joy sides with Charlie and ends up questioning her relationship with Eddie.