Enid came down with a sore throat and fever Saturday night which meant very little sleep for us that night, plus all the stress and worry that comes with a sick child. It also meant that Enid’s grandma had to cancel her Sunday play-date with Enid, which we were really counting on to give us a few hours to work steadily on packing and preparing the menaje de casa inventory. Worse yet, we had to keep her out of school on Monday, which was time we really needed to work on all kinds of moving-related stuff. I decided to just bite the bullet after Enid went to sleep Sunday night, and I stayed up until 4am finishing the menaje de casa inventory. I was a wreck the next day, but at least I got it done. In fact I turned it in today at the consulate in Sacramento. It should be approved and ready to pick up on Thursday. I also picked up our car permit today, so that’s done. Enid bounced back from her illness pretty quickly, as she generally does, and was back in school today. Unfortunately I have a scratchy throat myself now and I’m really hoping it doesn’t get worse. The last thing I need right now is to get sick.

While I was preparing the menaje de casa inventory I was looking on the internet for information and examples and I came across several mentions of using a customs broker to execute the actual border crossing. Upon further reading it appears that it’s actually required to hire one. So now I have to work on that. Sounds like it will cost about $200. They get you coming and going with the fees and expenses. Just obtaining the consular approval of the menaje de casa inventory cost me $127. The automobile importation permit was $39.