We are introduced to Thea's hectic routine, working at the supermarket checkout by day, dressing hair by night, and supervising her four demanding children. James gives his mother $25 which he earned delivering sandwiches during his school lunch hour, but she insists that he keep the money and eat his own lunch in the cafeteria henceforth. Danesha returns from taking Jerome clothes shopping, but Jerome blabs that he had to try on endless badly-fitting clothes while she talked on the phone to her new boyfriend Leonard, who is meeting her at the library later to study, and Thea insists that Jerome pick her up at home so she can inspect him. Meanwhile, Jarvis is supposedly at a friend's house doing a geography assignment, but Thea has found his geography book and knows that he has been at the video arcade instead, and grounds him before she leaves to attend a memorial service. It's the night of a big video game competition, and Jarvis sneaks out to it despite James' attempts to keep him a
Jerome is failing English because of his desperate attempts to make the school basketball team. When Thea forces him to finish his book report on ""To Kill a Mockingbird"", he doesn't make the team - but gets an A on his report. Meanwhile, Danesha attempts to submit a video to America's Funniest Home Videos.
The kids are not pleased when the washing machine breaks down, which means endless trips to the laundromat. Meanwhile, Danesha's boyfriend is in hot water after he kisses another girl, and Thea puts him through the wringer before he can come clean with Danesha.
Thea gets a chance to train for manager; but Jerome plans a boxing match party while Thea is at her night school class.
Jarvis lets his younger brother drive and they get into an accident; but it's no accident that the boys don't tell their mom who was behind the wheel. To punish them, she cooks up a scheme with Lynette, who pretends to have lost her wedding ring in her trash, now at the bottom of a very fragrant dumpster.
Conflict brews when Arthur plans his bachelor party and invites Jerome, whom Thea thinks is too young to attend.
Thea acquires an unwanted admirer.
On her birthday, Thea's treasured gift of hot tickets to a Motown reunion concert goes flat when her boss calls her in to work a replacement shift.
When Danesha's romance with Leonard disrupts the household, Jarvis and Jerome hatch a plan to split up the lovebirds.
Thea must work at the market on Thanksgiving, so she entrusts Danesha with the cooking of the family feast.
Jerome finds he has a knack with stocks which leads Thea to lend him a real investment stake.
Synopsis needed.
Danesha has a social studies project on single parents to do for school with the help of her classmate, Cliff Croverd, who just happens to be the most popular guy in school. Guess who they choose to interview about the experience of single parenthood?
Thea finds herself in a hairy situation when she can't afford mandated improvements to her in-home salon and an inspector wants to close it down.
Marcella uses Jerome to make her boyfriend, Dwayne, jealous while Jerome uses the relationship to meet his own needs. Meanwhile, Thea decides to fix her own plumbling after Clark refuses to make time to do it for her.
Danesha is paired with a basketball star for a school project, but finds that he could use a lesson in teamwork when he tries to pass all the work off on her.
Thea takes a day off, leaving the kids to do the household chores, and visits her favorite barbecue restaurant, Mickey's, only to discover that Mickey has died and new owner Roy's cooking is awful. Enter new head chef Thea.
This is presumably the episode where Thea really takes over the diner.
Jarvis needs space and privacy to study for his college SATs. Meanwhile, Thea is outraged when she learns that Mitch Mallard, the banker who holds the mortgage on the diner, eats there for free -- while Thea's kids have to pay.