Carnivorous frogs and irresponsible pre-teens

I had a lovely lunch outside. Actually it was my DD11's lunch that she'd left on the counter. Her loss is my gain. I don't do deliveries any more. Anyway, one of those awful worms descended from the oak tree on it's little silk parachute. Ugh. I scooped it up and took it in to feed to DD11's frog. This monster of a frog began as a tadpole collected at Gasquet last August and has now survived all his brethren to become a giant mutant entertaining member of the family. He loved the worm.

I, however, did not love the shape of DD11's room when I went in there. What a mess! And I'm picking up the ballet crowd to drive them after school today so they'll all want to change clothes and do their hair in there.

The question DD11 and I are dealing with this week, is just how responsible is an 11-year old girl supposed to be? One friend of mine cleans the room and does everything for hers, because "she's only 11." I can remember catching the bus to downtown Portland Oregon and being quite independent at that age. Do I expect too much? DD11 and I are trying to negotiate a list which will lead to a fair allowance.