Wendell has romantic designs on Karen, an interior decorator working at the Peterson house, so Robert decides to play Cupid. Meanwhile, Cece calls on big brother Nicholas to champion her against school bully Daniel.

Against their better judgment, Robert and Jerri allow daughter Zaria to wear a revealing dress to a dance, where the teen finds that her ""hoochie-mama get-up"" may be sending the wrong message and attracting the wrong type of guy. Meanwhile, Wendell continues to court Karen. When he learns that she wants a man who likes children, he sets out to prove it by taking her and the Petersons' younger children to a fancy restaurant. Chaos results when the children let lobsters loose.

While the Petersons are out of town at a wedding, Wendell tries to make a good impression on Karen's parents by telling them the Petersons' house is really his and they are welcome to spend the night. All goes well until the Petersons arrive home a day early....

Wendell claims that he met Peabo Bryson while working as a part-time cabbie, and that he's been invited to Atlantic City to attend Bryson's concert. But when the Petersons reluctantly accompany him, they find the promised free tickets have not materialized. Meanwhile, left to care for their younger siblings, Michael and Zaria decide to hire a babysitter instead.