Posted Dec. 4, 2008

Last week, Reese Witherspoon fessed up that she's "a little strict" when it comes to giving gifts to kids Ava, 9, and Deacon, 5, telling the BBC, "I think kids do best when they only have a couple of things that they really enjoy. I try and stay away from the gluttony of things. They don't appreciate it as much. When they only get one or two things, they really like it."

It's a lesson Britney Spears may learn when her tykes, Sean Preston, 3, and Jayden James, 2, are a little older, because right now, she appears to enjoy overindulging them.

According to OK!, the comeback-heading but still carefully controlled popster, 27, whose surprisingly well-received new album, "Circus," is expected to top the charts next week, treated her sons to a shopping spree at FAO Schwarz in New York on Wednesday afternoon.

"Each of the boys had one of those soldier guys [store staffers in uniform] to walk around with, and they each had a huge metal trolley cart to fill up," a spy tells the mag. "They picked out hundreds of dollars worth of Mack Trucks, cement mixers and RC cars."

Lynne Spears shops with Jayden at FAO Schwartz in New York on Dec. 3. (©WireImage.com)

The trip was made under the watchful eye of Brit's mom Lynne and decision-making dad Jamie, along with several bodyguards, who all took turns toting the boys around the store.

At one point, Lynne showed Jayden the massive floor piano that Tom Hanks hoofed on in "Big," but the rug rat looked less than impressed, perhaps because he and his brother were more focused on the toy-stuffed shelves (see oodles of FAO snapshots here).

"Sean really fell in love with a car transporter, which he had taken out of the box so he could hold it everywhere he went," relays the eyewitness. "Jayden was most excited about a little blue plane, and cried when someone tried to take it away."

Paparazzi pics of the outing seem to show a sunglasses-sporting Britney remaining slightly detached from the fun, but maybe she was just wiped out from the craziness of her birthday celebration the day before, when she performed on "Good Morning America" and marked the big 2-7 with a circus-themed soiree at New York hot spot Tenjune.

Revelers at the bash included Heidi Klum, Lance Bass and Jeremy Piven, who wandered in by mistake ("I'm really embarrassed," he tells Us. "I didn't know it was Britney's birthday party!"), but the girl of the hour apparently wasn't really in the mood to mix and mingle.

The New York Daily News says her "empty, wide-eyed stare" led several guests to remark, "She's so out of it!"

Britney performs on "Good Morning America" on Dec. 2. (©AP)

Turns out that assessment plays right into the latest Star cover story, which claims the seemingly dance- and gym-toned body that Britney has been showing off came at a steep price.

"Brit's deadly diet!" hollers the tab, which alleges she dropped 25 pounds with the help of the prescription medication (and apparent appetite suppressant) Topamax, which supposedly can cause spaciness.

"But she was still having trouble losing the last five to 10 pounds," adds a source. "So she turned to more drastic measures."

Star purports those "more drastic measures" include sometimes nixing solid food for days at a time (keep in mind, she didn't hesitate to chow down on the cheesy grits her dad made for her in the MTV documentary "For the Record") and "going in for twice-weekly colonics," trips which, oddly enough, haven't been captured by the ever-present paparazzi.

Meanwhile, a source tells Us Weekly that Brit's jam-packed schedule, which includes a soon-to-launch world tour, may be too much for her to handle so soon after her psych ward stays.

"She's drowsy and has a hard time retaining information," says the mole. "She's not ready for all this."

Adds another insider, "She cries all the time. Everyone is worried."

And finally, while Britney's ex-husband Kevin Federline smiles with Sean and Jayden from the cover of this week's People while decked out in a sweater from the Mr. Rogers collection, her other ex-hubby, Jason Alexander, is having a less wonderful day in the neighborhood.

TMZ reports that the Louisiana native, who was married to Spears for 55 long hours following a quickie Las Vegas ceremony in January 2004, is behind bars in Los Angeles for a 2006 DUI arrest.

Seems he was due to attend an alcohol education program that involved visiting the morgue, but he skipped the court-ordered appointments, resulting in a 10-day jail sentence.