The great (phone) debate

Phones. cell phones, cordless phones, old rotary phones, touch tone phone, pay phone, car phone and now the iphone...
There are too many phones to choose from.
Eugene and I have had cell phones since August of 2002. We signed a 2 year contract with Verizon and have kept renewing it every time it runs out.
The only time we have had a home phone was the brief period of time when my mom lived with us and she wanted one. I think that lasted maybe 6 months.
At first it it was awesome to have cell phones. The luxury of being able to call whoever, whenever wherever you were was great. Driving down the road and want to know better directions? Call someone with the internet and ask them to look some up for you. Out at the store and can't remember what the good CVS deals are? Call Beth, she knows. (Yes I've done that).
I've always loved my cell phone. There's only one problem, well maybe 2.
Minutes. I'm terrible at watching my minutes. I go over regularly. I used to have 400, then that plan moved up to 450. I went over so many times we had to just switch me to 950 minutes. Yes, I have 950 day time minutes and I still go over.
I didn't used to be this bad. When I was working I didn't use my cell phone very often so I stayed in my plan most of the time. Once Lexi was born and I was at home all the time my phone became a good friend.
The second problem is the battery, that's not as a big deal but like a cordless phone battery you have to charge it a lot.
When we switched my minutes from 450 to 950 it extended my 2 year contract to February. Eugene's ends in December. We were debating about what to do. We've been tossing around the idea of getting a home phone possibly with unlimited long distance and local calls and getting rid of my cell phone. That way I can call whoever I want whenever I want with no minute restrictions! The down side is that we will soon be having a second vehicle which means it will be possible for me to be on the road alone with Lexi. I don't like the thought of driving around unless I have a phone in case of emergencies.
I think we finally devised a plan that will help us with all the people we call. We will get a home phone, with just a basic local calling plan. Then I will get a Cingular (A&T) pay as you go cell phone .The people I talk to the most are April (my sister in law), Beth, my mom and my sister Bethany.
April has a home phone with unlimited long distance, so she will be able to call me on my home phone with no additional charge to either of us and we will be able to talk all day if we wanted.
Beth has a Cingular cell phone, so we'd be able to talk from cell phone to cell phone without using minutes. Therefore it will be free to both of us.
My mom and Bethany have Verizon, Since we will be keeping Eugene's cell phone with Verizon they will be able to call me on his phone using mobile to mobile minutes which equals FREE. If they need to get a hold of me during the day we all have the internet and can email or IM.
So I think we cheated the system. Of course we still have to wait until February to start this, unless I convince my husband to take my phone for 2 months, then we can start in December.