After Rita gets passed up for a promotion at work, she starts to question who she is and starts a garage band to capture the spirit of her younger days.
Rita skips out on Shannon's karate lesson to jam with the band and lies to Shannon about it. When Hallie exposes the truth, Rita tries to make it up to Shannon by buying her a dog. Meanwhile, Kip is determined to stay in the band against Hallie's wishes.
Rita tries to help out Patty with her love life, but with no avail. Elsewhere, Rita and Jay become angry when Hallie and Kip plan to get tattoos.
Jay gets jealous when Rita and Patty take a trip to the guitar shop and meet two young musicians who invite them to watch their band perform.
When the sitter cancels, Rita and Jay worry they will have to cancel their plans for a weekend-getaway. Rita leaves Hallie in charge of the house while she and Jay are away, but sets up a surveillance camera system first.
After Jay makes a surprise dinner that gets rave reviews from the kids, Rita starts to feel unappreciated.
Rita and Jay's money lessons fail to capture Hallie's attention once she gains a job herself. Hallie doesn't see any need to go to college until she observes how Rita's job affects her life.
Jay's friends make fun of him after Rita reveals his soft side. Shannon gets the help of Kip and Hallie on her school film project.
Hallie considers having sex with Kip after her friends constantly pressure her into doing so. When Rita finds out, she tries to advise Hallie in the right direction. Shannon invites Jay to Career Day at her school.
When Rita is called for jury duty and Jay, after much of Rita's nagging, joins a committee that turns out to be just an excuse for dads to watch sports, they enjoy how relaxing their new responsibilities are and realize they need to make free time a priority. Much to Rita's dismay, Hallie and Kip become vegetarians.
When Owen spends more time practicing with the band than searching for a job, his wife kicks him out of the house. Rita and Jay invite him to stay at their house for a while, and Owen gets a peek at a different side of his band mate that he doesn't expect.
Hearing that Kip is performing with another band comes as a relief to Rita and Patty, who thought that he was cheating on Hallie. When Rita hears the songs the new band writes, it ignites a fire in her and she tries to write some tunes of her own. She has a hard time, but finds inspiration through Jay when he reminds her of letters she once wrote to him.
When Rita comes down with a cold, Patty helps out around the house. But when Patty starts forming a special bond with Shannon, Rita gets jealous. Kip and Jay become closer after they have a video-game rivalry.
Rita and a former band mate, whom she holds a grudge against, are reunited via Facebook. Also on Facebook, Hallie and Kip compete to see who can make the most friends
Hallie loses her parent's trust when she sneaks out of the house to a college party. Rita is not sure how to respond to Patty's request to let her personal trainer join the band, and Rita and Jay are convinced by Shannon to host a birthday party for their dog.
After discovering that Jay's aunt doesn't like her, Rita sets out to make a good impression when she visits.
Rita and Jay have dinner with Jay's new client Sam, who reveals his secret desire of having a garage band. When Rita tells him that she has a band with her friends, he invites them to play at the company's annual party. Shannon finds a way to get Hallie to do all of her chores and make a profit off of her too.
After Rita finds out someone has been bullying Shannon at school, she competes with the bully's mother at a school fund-raiser. Hallie buys a used car that makes Jay reminisce about the old days.
Rita and Jay both plan special Valentine's Day celebrations, in the hopes that there is still some spark left in their relationship.
Rita gets a promotion at work and makes the tough decision that she will have to quit the band to keep up with her hectic schedule. But when Jay and the girls start noticing that Rita isn't the same without her music, they try to get her to prioritize.
In the second-season opener, Rita takes Hallie to the doctor to discuss birth-control options. But Rita's in for a shock when she discovers she's pregnant.
Rita accidentally tips Kip off to Hallie's plans to attend a concert with a new coworker. Meanwhile, Jay is tired of empty-nester Patty's constant presence.
A promotion at work has Rita worrying about her boss's reaction to the news of her pregnancy. Meanwhile, Shannon pursues a scholarship for space camp.
Owen gets a makeover from Rita and Patty to boost his confidence for a job interview. Meanwhile, Hallie wants Rita to boot Kip from the band.
Rita plays matchmaker for Patty, but when Patty declares she isn't ready to settle down, Rita sets out to prove that marriage isn't routine. She persuades Jay to go clubbing and makes sure Patty witnesses their married night out.
The family holds a garage sale to clear out junk after Hallie decides to move into the attic so she doesn't have to share a room with the baby. Meanwhile, Jay accidentally learns the baby's sex.
Rita contends with new neighbor Chuck (Duane Martin), who enjoys playing loud music at all hours. Patty learns Chuck is a bass player and asks him to join the band, but the outcome isn't good.
Shannon's teacher (Jennifer Elise Cox) urges Rita and Jay to enroll their daughter in a school for gifted children. Meanwhile, at Rita's suggestion, a depressed Hallie signs up for a breast-cancer walkathon to take her mind off of being single.
Budding designer Hallie's work motivates Rita to plan a fashion-show fund-raiser, but Rita has second thoughts when she sees the dress Hallie creates for her. Meanwhile, Jay takes his role as cup-stacking coach for Shannon too far.
Hallie attends a college party without permission after Patty's son encourages her to pursue higher education. Meanwhile, bad feelings between Rita and Patty result in a lousy audition for the band, but the two come together to search for Hallie.
Hallie and Kip try to be friends after their breakup. Meanwhile, Rita and Jay befriend the parents of Shannon's classmate Brianna, but are caught in the middle when Shannon decides to end her friendship with the girl.
Rita's judgmental mother (Swoosie Kurtz) comes for a visit, throwing Rita into a whirlwind of housecleaning and junk-food hiding. But when her mom arrives with a new relaxed attitude, Rita suspects something's amiss.
Rita worries about traveling to attend a work seminar because of Jay and her mother's constant bickering at home. With Rita away, the situation worsens when the two realize the garage door was left open and Rita's guitar has disappeared. Swoosie Kurtz guest stars.
Marilyn (Swoosie Kurtz) persuades Patty to let her help plan Rita's baby shower, but the two can't agree on anything. Meanwhile, Kip starts dating a new girl and Hallie isn't pleased.
Jay sees Rita's mother (Swoosie Kurtz) flirting with a man who isn't her husband. Meanwhile, Kip offers to teach Rita's neighborhood nemesis Jasper how to play the drums as a way to make money for college.
Rita gets PTA nemesis Jennifer (Melissa Peterman) a job at her store, but soon regrets the kind act when Jennifer proves to be a slacker. Meanwhile, Jay hires Kip to do odd jobs around the house.
Rita and Patty enter a jingle contest for a chicken company. Elsewhere, Patty tries to make her ex-husband jealous by attending her high-school reunion with Chuck.
Rita's insecurities about her pregnant body heighten when she meets Jay's pretty new colleague Stephanie (Christine Lakin). Stephanie later reveals to Rita that Jay's been confiding in her about his new-baby fears. Meanwhile, old feelings resurface for Hallie and Kip.
Rita and Patty secretly submit an application for Kip to a performing-arts school and he's offered an audition. But Hallie is upset to learn it is a boarding school and blames her mother for trying to keep her away from Kip.
