Anyone who's ever been a parent knows that having kids changes things. Like, everything. In ways you anticipated and in ways you never thought of. So it should come as no surprise at all that even the ubiquitous New Year's Resolutions to get healthier are a whole different ballgame when you have kids in the mix.

I've found that it goes both ways, too: There are ways in which my kids inspire me to be healthier, myself, as well as ways in which I feel obligated to make better choices to set the right example for my children.

(Geez... it's like parenting involves being thoughtful about your life, or something. Hmph.)

In my house, January has already proven to be full of changes. For one thing, I've started working out -- if you can call it that -- now that I've received a Wii Fit. I'm having a good time with it, and actually enjoying exercising for the first time in my life. I'm doing this partly for my own health, obviously, but also because I've noticed my daughter tending towards my own "exercise is no fun" attitude. Although both of my children are fit and relatively active, I really don't want to be a "do as I say, not as I do" kind of parent.

It doesn't hurt that the Fit is so much fun, the kids end up squabbling over whose turn it is, either. Though I'm still a little miffed that my 9-year-old is so much better at most of the yoga poses than I am.

The other big change for us is in our meal-planning; although I made a lot of changes to our diet in 2008, making more organic choices and cooking even more foods from scratch than ever before, we now have a vegetarian in our midst. And while I'm fine with providing "meat substitute" options on a night when we have a meat-centric meal, it turns out that there are plenty of new, delicious meat-free meals we can all enjoy. Don't get me wrong -- I do still love our carnivore nights -- but I'm loving the new foods we're discovering.

Without kids, I'd probably still be sitting on the couch, and eating buffalo wings. Well, maybe not at the same time. (Oh, who am I kidding? Yes, at the same time.) It's because of the kids that I have the Wii, it's because of the kids that I thought of the Wii Fit as a good option towards getting my body moving again, and because of the kids that I'm thinking so much more about what we choose to consume.

(I think I may be growing as a person, even. I mean, in the good way, not in the I-need-bigger-jeans way.)

I'm not the only one starting out 2009 with some healthy resolutions for me and the kids.

Moms Need To Know has resolved to stop trying to be a gourmet:

I wanted to turn my children (and mostly my husband. in the 18 years we have been together, the only green vegetables that he will eat has been lettuce and green peppers) in to something that they are not. They love comfort food. They love BeefARoni (although at least I have never bought the cans). They don't care how cheaply I got the shrimp, fontina cheese and heavy cream. They want cheese lasagna with red sauce, not seafood risotto.

And the sooner I start learning to cook for their taste (while making it as healthy as possible), the happier I will be.

Healthy Families, Warm Hearts is talking about exercising together as a family, for all sorts of benefits:

We also like to walk together as a family. We often go on walks with the kids at night. We love to bundle the kids up in the winter and go on walks at night. The quiet, peaceful evenings are so relaxing, but invigorating at the same time.

Dr. Tapas' Medical Blog has great suggestions for healthy resolutions kids of all ages can make, and -- my favorite part -- this great "bonus tip," as well:

I realize my parents are there to help me, but can only help me if I communicate with them and ask for help. If I am not able to ask my parents for help or my parents are not able to help me, I recognize that I have additional resources available to me in the form of other adult relatives, teachers and my pediatrician. I have a virtual army of people whose sole purpose is to help me when I need help, so I plan to utilize my resources and not let them go to waste!

And Mama Manifesto's Kristen shares a wishlist of resolutions for the kids (oh, if only), including gems such as:

I will let my mommy brush my hair without screaming

(Sorry, Kristen -- we're coming up on 11 and there's still histrionics associated with hair-brushing. The good news is that eventually they're old enough to do it themselves!)

Whatever you and your kids vow to do together to get healthier in 2009, do be sure to notice and call out your family's progress, however small. A little encouragement goes a long way! (Why, when my son complimented me on my facility with hula hoops on the Wii Fit, that made it pretty hard to collapse in a heap of sore muscles like I'd wanted to do. Heh.)

Here's to a healthy 2009! What will you change this year?

BlogHer Contributing Editor Mir also blogs about issues parental and otherwise at Woulda Coulda Shoulda, and about the joys of mindful retail therapy at Want Not.