It's Kyle and Andy's birthday, and Andy is feeling a little left out of his own special day. They decide to take him to a restaurant that serves a 4,5 lbs steak, and Jim offers to pay for the check because Cheryl isn't feeling equal to Dana, who's spending a lot of money on their kids. On the table, Dana says she doesn't mind paying the check because she makes more money than Jim, which enfuriates him. He buys a donkey for the girls so they can know he's the one they should go to if they want stuff (in this case, they wanted a poney, but "they'll never know the difference"), and it isn't until the donkey ruins a painting Dana bought for Kyle's room that they talk it out and settle their issues.
Season 1 Episode 18 of According to Jim resulted in a 0.00 rating in the 18-49 demographic.
s01e01 - Pilot
s01e02 - No Nookie
s01e03 - The Cat Came Back
s01e04 - Anniversary
s01e05 - Unruly Spirits
s01e06 - The Crush
s01e07 - Cheryl's Old Flame
s01e08 - The Turkey Bowl
s01e09 - Andy's Girlfriend
s01e10 - An According to Jiminy Christmas
s01e11 - The Bad Word
s01e12 - Model Behavior
s01e13 - The Money
s01e14 - Blow-Up
s01e15 - Racquetball
s01e16 - Under Pressure
s01e17 - Date Night
s01e18 - Birthday Boys
s01e19 - The Receipt
s01e20 - Old Friends
s01e21 - Cheryl's Day Off
s01e22 - No Surprises
Jim, the macho everyman, with a soft spot for his beautiful wife, Cheryl, and their three precocious kids - Ruby, Gracie and Kyle. A success at his construction business and the family breadwinner, at home Jim seems to keep Cheryl in constant turmoil with his boyish bravado and ever-willful antics. But their underlying love for each other guarantees they are in this marriage for keeps.
Cheryl, for her part, instinctively aims for the straight and narrow, but secretly enjoys it when Jim coaxes out her playful side. It's an odd-couple tug-of-war of happily-married opposites yet equals. This is a love story couched in a family comedy.
At the conclusion of last season, Cheryl's high-strung sister, Dana, a career woman who seemed destined to remain forever single, finally met and married a doctor and the man of her dreams.
Jim's brother-in-law and partner in the Ground Up design/building firm, Andy, is Jim's foil but also his truest friend. Andy doggedly covers for his pal whenever Cheryl gets close to uncovering Jim's incessant schemes.