Apple doesn't provide a way for you to withdraw an erase command from iCloud. Theoretically, if it hasn't been withdrawn, an engineer for Apple could go in and remove it from the queue assuming:
- They could verify you were really you
- You figured out how to convince them to do this
As for whether you can still track the device after an erase is sent, that depends on the version of iOS on the device.
If you have iOS 7 or later - the erase action does not stop tracking or remove the activation lock preventing a thief or someone who finds / buys it from being able to use the device. It will still show your lock message and you can still track the device. Problem solved!
If you are on iOS 6 or earlier, you are correct that you will have lost the chance to track the device once it connects and receives the wipe command. If it ever connects to Apple's servers, the wipe will happen and the device will be erased and you should get an email if/when that happens.
Wow, Big Brother is watching! Contrary to popular belief, the iPhone's cell reception is not perfect, and from time to time you can and will "lose cell," and it will appear offline. This can happen when it enters its energy saving mode when asleep, though you should still receive calls. This can really happen any time you're not within a reasonable line of site to a cell tower, or even when switching between towers, and cell frequencies really don't go through wooded areas or mountains or hills all that well, and by that I mean "not at all." It is completely normal for iPhones and cell phones in general to lose cell connectivity when behind a hill from the nearest cell tower. Also, holding the phone wrong can cause it to lose cell, because just holding it will de-attenuate the antenna. And all cell phones have this feature.
Also, the A-GPS system iPhone uses is also not perfect. GPS itself is far from perfect, and really doesn't work all that well (read "not at all") unless you have a line of sight to 3 or more satellites. The 'A' part of A-GPS means "assisted" and you can read about what that means in the link above, and it mitigates some of the issues with GPS.
Using "Find My iPhone" to track family members is a little extreme. I think a more friendly way to have the same functionality is to use Apple's Find My Friends app. Try to talk Mom into using that instead, and then you can track her at the same time, too, quid pro quo.
Best Answer
it does not show history but if the device is shut off or location services disabled, find my iPhone will show the last known location of your device