Jayden James Federline

With her first-ever concert tour through Australia starting in just a couple of days, pop star Britney Spears is doing her best to live a normal life while she can.

Well, whatever her equivalent of a normal life is. This is a woman who cleans up her image at the same time she releases her "3" music video, remember.

Friday night, Britney took her boys Sean Preston Federline, 4, and Jayden James Federline, 3, out for a family dinner in Calabasas, Calif. Here's mommy ...

Britney Spears' son Jayden is so big! Kids. They grow up so fast.

It's been really nice for Britney to be spending some low-key time in L.A. recently. The kids have really gotten to know their new dad-in-waiting Jason Trawick.

Click to enlarge more Britney Spears pictures featuring the international superstar and mother-of-two doing what she does best. Or at least loves most ...

[Photos: Fame Pictures]

When Sean Preston and Jayden James Federline were looking for a male role model to play with in the pool on a recent trip with mom to Mexico, they needn't look far.

Britney Spears' boyfriend Jason Trawick was ready to jump right in.

"Jason is great with the kids and you can tell Britney really trusts him," an eyewitness at the Tides Zihuatanejo resort in Mexico told Us Weekly of Britney's beau.

Falling in love with him helped save Britney, but also benefits the kiddies: "He would pick up Jayden if he wanted to be held, immediately calming him down."

Britney Spears is all smiles with her new man - and so are the kids.

Sources close to the pair say Jason Trawick has a calming influence over the boys that has Britney, who divorced their dad Kevin Federline in 2006, at peace.

"He is absolutely fantastic with the boys," a Trawick pal said.

"When you see him with them, you wouldn't think for a moment that he wasn't [Sean Preston and Jayden James'] dad. He treats the kids like they are his own."

"[Jason] is very mature and seems ready to take on the responsibility of a single mom with two kids," another friend of Britney's agent-turned-lover extolls.

Trawick, 37, described as "a nice guy who doesn't take life too seriously," stood by Spears in her darkest moments and has been instrumental in her recovery.

Spears has visitation rights and sees her sons about half the time, although that dirtbag K-Fed maintains custody of them, at least from a legal standpoint.

Enjoying downtime in L.A. before she hits the road for Circus tour dates in Australia, pop star Britney Spears is making the most of normal life these days.

She just returned from a brief family vacation in Mexico, and yesterday, she took sons Sean Preston and Jayden James Federline to the movies. What a nice outing.

Here's the cute family en route ...

Britney Spears, Jayden James and Sean Preston go catch a flick.

Kids. They grow up so fast. Sometimes, it's hard to come to grips with the fact that three or four years have passed by ... and that they can stop using pacifiers.

Seriously, Britney. Are you just shoving that in Jayden James' mouth so that he won't talk? We wouldn't be surprised if he's still rocking that in middle school.

Oh well, at least she's not barricading herself in the bathroom with him.

Click to enlarge more Britney Spears pictures with the kiddies ...

[Photos: Fame Pictures]

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline will share 50-50 custody of their sons Sean Preston and Jayden James through the end of this year, and likely beyond.

An L.A. County Superior Court judge extended the order that was initially put in place earlier this year for the purposes of Britney Spears' Circus tour.

Under the terms, Britney gets to travel with Sean Preston and Jayden James and must provide the FedEx man with a place to stay if he wants to come with.

The sealed order is more detailed, but the long and short of it is that Britney Spears gets minimum 50-50 custody and at times even more. Hooray!

As for Kevin, in addition to the $20,000 a month Britney pays him in child support, he gets up to $25,000 a month when the kids are outside California.

That'll by a lot of steaks for the Celebrity Fit Club star.

At the end of the year the judge will reevaluate custody, but it is looking like the 50-50 arrangement is the way of the future. K-Fed has not stood in the way of Britney Spears' efforts to see the kids since she's gotten better.

Britney and K-Fed seem to be on the same page. Well, in terms of custody of the kids. Certainly not in terms of talent or diet. [Photos: PacificCoastNewsOnline.com]

In other Britney Spears news, the celebrity gossip photographer whose foot she ran over with a car back in 2007 is still looking to cash in on it.

Shutterbug Ricardo Mendoza, who fell victim to the tire of Britney Spears' Mercedes in 2007, has updated his accusation against the pop star.

When Mendoza sued her for assault, battery and negligence back in May, the damages were unspecified. But now, they're specified: Mendoza wants $195,000 in general damages, $16,533 for medical bills and $10,000 for future foot problems.

Hey, might as well milk it while you're at it.

Mendoza, who was clicking away for TMZ at the time of the incident, let the website auction off the treaded-upon sock he was wearing two years ago.

Someone bought it, too. For $585. Amazing.

Meanwhile, Britney's busy concluding the North American leg of her wildly successful Circus tour before she heads off to Australia in November.

Britney Spears took her sons, Sean Preston Federline and Jayden James Federline, for a pedicab ride through famed Central Park in New York City yesterday.

The buzz cuts look a lot better on them than on her.

Something about Britney always looks so natural when handling the children, like she's been put on Earth to raise children and her instincts are so strong...

Britney Spears and her boys have a blast in New York.

Crazily, Sean Preston and Jayden James both celebrate birthdays next month, and will turn 4 and 3 respectively. It's pretty bonkers that it's been that long.

Glad to see them all happy, hanging out and doing so well, however. These are good days. Click to enlarge more Sean, Jayden and Britney Spears photos ...

[Photos: Fame Pictures]

New bikini, same cuteness.

Britney Spears opted for green instead of the pink bikini she wore the previous day, but she was back for a second round of poolside fun today - this time with the kids!

Check out the new haircuts on Jayden James and Sean Preston!

Shortening the kids' hair is always a good way to help them beat the summer heat. Plus, a buzz cut looks better on the kiddies than on Britney herself ...

Britney Spears smiles at Jayden James. Wonder if she remembers his name.

They may be foul-mouthed brats, and likely scarred for life after the events of early 2008, but SP and JJ sure are cute, and it's great to see Britney with them.

Victoria Prince isn't ready for full-time mom duty just yet.

All in all, a good time was enjoyed. Click to enlarge more photos of Britney in a bikini, with Sean Preston and Jayden James, by the pool in Los Angeles ...

[Photos: Fame Pictures]

If Britney Spears' sons language is any indication, Sean Preston and Jayden James are quickly following in their white trash dad's classy footsteps.

While the star picked up goodies at a swag suite last week, to honor the peeps at the Teen Choice Awards, her kids made quite the impression.

Sean Preston, 3, and Jayden James, 2, repeatedly yelled, "Oh $h!t!"

Not that this is a surprise. This sort of thing comes from upbringing, and they spend most of their time in a house with K-Fed and Victoria Prince.

Not that people were mortified. They are still cute, after all.

Kids. They drop the strangest f-bombs. [Photos: Fame Pictures]

"We were all surprised by their potty mouths, but it was actually pretty funny," one Sean P. onlooker acknowledged to the New York Daily News.

How did Britney Spears respond to her sons' foul-mouthed antics? "She was too busy picking out freebies to chastise the boys for misbehaving."

Sounds about right.

Britney Spears' Circus tour rolls on, and the star is not getting any less hot with each passing city. On the contrary, in fact, the girl is looking better than ever.

Not only is Britney delighting crowds the world over, but she herself seems happier these days - perhaps because her children have come along for the ride!

Here's Britney with her son Jayden James, 2, in Denmark over the weekend, where she took in the sights and then put on one heck of a show in Copenhagen:

Jayden James' chief of staff carries His Pimpness on a leisurely stroll.

She's probably not converting to Judaism for Jason Trawick, but being in love has probably done wonders for the superstar's spirits, as well. As it should!

Click to enlarge lots more Britney Spears and Jayden James pictures below, showing the star in concert and going for a walk in Copenhagen with her son ...

[Photos: Fame Pictures]

After delivering a powerhouse Paris performance the previous night, Britney Spears enjoyed the sights of the French capital, taking Jayden James to the Eiffel Tower!

Sean Preston was also on hand, carried by some nanny person, but it was Jayden James who was front and center with his pop superstar mom, looking oh-so-adorable:

He may be scarred for life before he even hits his third birthday, but Jayden James Federline is the cutest! In other news, his mom appears to be a little cold.

Kevin Federline and Victoria Prince have been watching the two boys during Britney's rehearsals and Circus tour concerts. When Britney has free time, she takes 'em.

It's a good arrangement, especially for K-Fed, to gets $40,000 per month to go on vacations to France and wax it with Victoria Prince while occasionally babysitting.

Click to enlarge more pics of Britney and Jayden James ...

[Photos: Fame Pictures]

Enjoying her brief time off in between UK Circus tour dates, Britney Spears took sons Sean Preston, 3 1/2, and Jayden James, 2 1/2, to Hamleys Toy Shop in London.

Talk about a cute picture, even if JJ is a tad old to be rocking the pacifier.

Then again, neither of K-Fed's sons were dropped on their heads at any point during the day, so we can consider the family outing a success. Team Britney!

Here's our girl with the cutest little tykes around ...

The recovering ringleader next hits the stage Wednesday in Manchester, England, before heading to Ireland and France as The Circus Starring Britney Spears rolls on.

So far, reaction to the singer's European tour has been mixed:

• The Sun, under the headline "All A Brit Dull," called Britney Spears, who is dating her agent Jason Trawick, "completely uninspiring … just a girl walking around, flicking her hair and miming to some average pop songs."
• The Daily Mirror, however, loved "Britney's Sexy Circus," saying anyone expecting a  wholesome-as-mom's-apple-pie image are in for a rude awakening!"
• The Guardian opined that "there's something unsexy about all of it, possibly because of something weirdly characterless about the woman at its centre."
• The Daily Mail, noting some of her well-documented troubles, praised the show and Spears for staging of one of pop's most "remarkable comebacks."
• Daily Telegraph rock writer Neil McCormick writes: "Lipsynced, autotuned and double tracked, her vocals are as unashamedly pre-recorded as her backing tracks," calling it "the most perfectly plastic pop show ever staged." 

Her critics probably just haven't seen those clips of Sean Preston and Jayden James dancing. Now that would change the minds of even the most ardent haters.