Lawrence returns home from the seminary and tells his family that he's dropping out for good, leaving Mike and Peggy upset; Timmy decides he wants to audition for a children's theatre production; Eddie tries to keep his girlfriend a secret.

Timmy decides to enter a poetry contest to win the money he needs to repair his ventriloquist dummy; Lawrence complains that there are no fresh vegetables in the family's diet.

Mike proudly introduces a new microwave to the Cleary household; Lawrence attempts to apply lessons from a psych class at school to psychoanalyse Mike and Peggy.

To hide a mess Eddie made, his girlfriend, Wendi, tries to distract Peggy by insisting she take a day off; Peggy accepts the offer and requests Wendi tag along, hoping to teach her a lesson; Pat introduces Timmy to his secret dog.

Timmy must choose between his dad's dreams for him and his own dreams of showbiz glory; feeling rusty after being at the seminary for so long, Lawrence asks Eddie to help prepare him for a date by taking him on a practise date.

Mike comes to the conclusion that Eddie is sexually active and takes it upon himself to give him advice; Joey and Timmy attempt to disrupt Frank's plan to do free yardwork.