visual monitoring via wifi

Take a look at something like this: Foscam at Amazon. You can set these up easily in your home and connect them to your wireless router. Then, you can use an application on your smartphone to look at them any time you wish. You can also program them to send you an email if they detect motion. If you're worried about temperature in the house, just include a large thermometer in the room where the camera is! Works great.

You need to make an entry in your wifi router to allow access but the cameras come with clear instructions on doing that. I'm assuming you have a cable modem connection to your home...you'll need that.