Until I went off to kindergarten, my days were spent with my father’s mother, Nana. Nana and I had a special bond. She had three sons and no daughters, so when I “came along” she had a little girl to bond with in her daily life. As a mom of all boys, I can only imagine her excitement raising a granddaughter. And believe me, I was a girly-girl! I would go to her house dressed in my fancy clothes and follow Nana around like a puppy. I still remember sitting and watching her put on makeup and picking out her outfits. Nana was one of those ladies who had a pocketbook for every single outfit she owned, definitely a “fashionista” in her day!

Everyday my parents would drop me off at Nana’s house and my day would begin! Papa would always be asleep when I got there, so Nana and I would quietly make him breakfast. If I close my eyes today, I can still smell the French toast we used to make. Nana LOVED to cook and bake, so she would teach me everything and let me be her little helper.

After cooking we would move on to cleaning. Nana was quite the entertainer. She hosted card games, book clubs and dinner parties three or four times a week! I would help her get the house ready and prepared for her guests. We would vacuum the rugs and wash all the glasses and plates by hand until they sparkled. She would let me set the table with her, making sure everyone had a beautiful cloth napkin and matching silverware. We would then dust and make everything, as I used to say at the time, “shiny!”

It’s incredible to think that a simple bottle of Windex can evoke such an emotion, but it does. I remember Nana spraying the mirrors and windows with the blue liquid in the bottle and wiping everything down with cotton cloths. She would always let me do a special extra wipe, just to make sure she got everything! It’s funny how I still remember following her around with my little yellow cloth, which was her favorite color.  There was something about cleaning with my Nana that made me smile. She would make me feel important, special and a part of her life. When we cleaned together, we talked, laughed and bonded. We worked together and made “chores” fun.

It’s been 28 years since we shared those special moments together. Even though my Nana passed away three years ago, which was very devastating, she passed along so many traditions to me and taught me so much about managing a household. I have four sons of my own now and they absolutely love to clean! When they see the Windex bottle that has been used in my family for so many years, there’s fighting over who gets to help me! It makes me smile because I think of my Nana. I don’t know what it is about cleaning or why my children love it so much, but there’s a bonding piece within it. My own mother learned from my Nana and uses Windex every single day to clean her granite counters. A clean home is important to my family and Windex plays a big part, my Nana and my mom taught me that. I cherish the traditions that I am passing on to my own sons and I hope I am adding shine and sparkle to their lives!

GIVEAWAY

Can you believe Windex is turning 75 this year? Windex has played such a huge part in my childhood and has truly evolved over time to fit my needs now as a mother. To help celebrate, I’m giving one lucky winner a Windex Variety Prize Pack Giveaway!

To enter, leave a comment below describing your favorite Windex products. Can’t wait to hear some of your favorites!

Rules:

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT POST OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR, PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

1. Eligibility:  Mom Generations Windex® Variety Pack Giveaway (“Sweepstakes”) is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States (including the District of Columbia) and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are at least eighteen (18) years of age.  Employees of MomGenerations.com (“Sponsor”), Daniel J. Edelman, Inc., and SC Johnson & Son, Inc. and any of their parents, subsidiaries. affiliated companies and their advertising and promotion agencies, as well as the immediate family (spouses, parents, siblings and children and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and household members, whether or not related of each such employee are not eligible to enter or win.  The Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.  Void in Quebec and where prohibited by law.

2. Agreement to Official Rules: By participating in the Sweepstakes, entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to and accepts these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor which are final and binding in all matters related to the Sweepstakes.  Whether an entrant receives a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

3. Timing: The Sweepstakes begins on October 4, 2011 at 12:00 a.m. Pacific Time (“PT”) and ends on October 11, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. PT (“Promotion Period”).

4. How to Enter: During the Promotion Period, there is  one (1) way to earn an entry:  1. Post a comment under the Mom Generations blog posts made by Audrey McClelland describing what is your favorite Windex® product and why.

All online entries must be received (comments posted) by 5:00 p.m. PT on October 11, 2011 to be eligible.  Limit one (1) entry per person, per email address and per household, regardless of method of entry. Entries received from any person, email address or household in excess of the stated limitation will be void. Entries generated by script, macro or other automated means and entries by any means which subvert the entry process are void.  All entries become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. In the event of a dispute over the identity of an online entrant, entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the blog post and he/she must comply with these Official Rules. Authorized account subscriber is the natural person who is assigned the e-mail address by the Internet Service Provider (ISP), on-line service provider, or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses.

Entrants must comply with the terms and conditions (http://momgenerations.com/about/) or other guidelines provided for blog postings at MomGenerations.com. An entrant’s failure to comply with the terms and conditions and/or guidelines, as determined by Sponsor, may result in disqualification and all associated entries will be void.

Blog posting must (i) be entrant’s own original work and reflect the true opinions and experiences of the applicable entrant,  (ii) be in English, (iii) cannot be previously published or submitted in connection with any other promotion, (iv)  be in keeping with the Sponsor’s image and (v) not be offensive or inappropriate, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion, nor can it defame or invade publicity rights or privacy of any person, living or deceased, or otherwise infringe upon any person’s personal or property rights or any other  third party rights.  Sponsor reserves the right to remove any blog post and void the associated entry that it determines, in its sole discretion, is offensive or inappropriate, not in keeping with Sponsor’s image or that is otherwise not in compliance with these Official Rules.

By posting a blog post, each entrant acknowledges and agrees that Sponsor may obtain blog posts under this Sweepstakes or have developed on its own or through other third parties’ ideas and material and blog posts that may be similar or identical in theme, idea, format or other respects to others submitted under this Sweepstakes and/or other promotions sponsored by the Sponsor or submitted for other reasons on the website, and entrant waives any and all claims he/she may have had, may have, and/or may have in the future, that any other blog post accepted, reviewed and/or used by Sponsor may be similar to his/her blog post.

5. Winner Determination: Potential winners of prizes will be chosen from all eligible entries received in a random drawing to be held within five (5) business days after the close of entries by Sponsor whose decision is final and binding in all matters. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.

6. Winner Requirements: Potential winners will be notified by email on or about October 12, 2011.  Potential winners will be required to sign and return to Administrator, within twenty four (24) hours of date of issuance an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability & Publicity Release (unless prohibited by law). Failure to return all required documents within the specified time period, the inability to contact the potential winner within a reasonable time period, the return of the prize or prize notification as undeliverable or non-compliance with these Official Rules will result in forfeiture of prize.

If the potential winner is a resident of Canada, he/she must correctly answer a time-limited mathematical skill-testing question administered by telephone without assistance or mechanical or electronic aid in order to receive the prize. If the selected Canadian potential winner cannot be reached within a reasonable time period (as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion), he/she may be disqualified, and, at Sponsor’s sole discretion, the prize will be forfeited.

Winner, by acceptance of prize, except where legally prohibited, grants permission for Sponsor and its designees to use his/her name, address (city and state), photograph, voice and/or other likeness and prize information for advertising, trade and promotional purposes without further compensation, in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide in perpetuity, without notice or review or approval.

7. Prizes: A prize package including Windex® product samples (Windex® Original, Windex® Multi-Surface Vinegar and Windex® Electronic Wipes).  Approximate Retail Value of prize is $10.97 USD and will be given to two (2) selected winners for an approximate Retail Value total of $21.94 USD. Prize is non-transferable and no substitution or cash-redemption is permitted except by Sponsor, in its sole discretion, which reserves the right to substitute the prize (or portion thereof) with one of comparable or greater value. Winner is responsible for all federal, state and local taxes (including income and withholding taxes) and any other costs and expenses associated with prize receipt and/or use not specified herein as being provided.  Prize is awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied by Sponsor. All prize details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion.

8. Release:   Entrants agree to release and hold harmless Sponsor,  Daniel J. Edelman, Inc., S.C. Johnson & Son  and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertising/promotion agencies, and prize suppliers, and each of their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliate companies and advertising and promotion agencies and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents (collectively, the “Released Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action, including, but not limited to, personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, out of participation in the Sweepstakes or receipt or use or misuse of the prize.

9. Ownership/Use of Blog Posts: By submitting a blog post, each entrant agrees Sponsor shall own the blog post submitted (including all rights embodied therein) and that it and its designees (including S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.) may exploit, edit, modify, and distribute the blog post and all elements of such blog post, including, without limitation, the names and likenesses of any persons or locations mentioned therein (including the use of the blog post for promotional purposes in connection with this Sweepstakes and for the promotion of Windex® products, except where prohibited by law), in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity without compensation, permission or notification to entrant or any third party.

10. General Conditions: Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Sweepstakes, or any part of it for any reason, including if virus, bugs, worms, unauthorized intervention, or any fraud, technical failures or any other factor impairs the integrity or proper functioning of the Sweepstakes, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.  In the event of cancellation, Sponsor reserves the right to select the winner from among all remaining non-suspect entries received as of time as such cancellation. Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Sweepstakes or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or those of any other promotion or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner and all associated entries will be void.  Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages and other remedies (including attorneys’ fees) from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.  Sponsor’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.  Twitter and Facebook are not affiliated in any way with the Sweepstakes.

11. Limitations of Liability: The Released Parties are not responsible for: (1) any incorrect or inaccurate information in any Sweepstakes-related materials, whether caused by entrant, printing or typographical errors or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Sweepstakes; (2) lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines, or failed computer, satellite, telephone, cable, or network/computer hardware or software, or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions; (3) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Sweepstakes; (4) technical, mechanical, network , electronic, computer, human or other errors which may occur, including any errors that may occur in connection with the administration of the Sweepstakes, the processing of entries or blog posts, the announcement of the winner or in any other Sweepstakes-related materials; or (5) late, lost, incomplete, misdirected, delayed, garbled, illegible, postage-due, undeliverable, damaged or stolen entries or blog posts or mail.  Released Parties are not responsible for damage to any computer system resulting from participation in, accessing or downloading information in connection with this Sweepstakes. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Sweepstakes.

12. Winner’s Name:  Winner will be available after October 12, 2011 at MomGenerations.com. The winner’s name will be available until on or about January 1, 2012.

13. Sponsor: Audrey McClelland, MomGenerations.com

Don’t forget to also check out the Windex Facebook Page to learn more about the amazing history of Windex and how you can help celebrate its 75^th birthday.

* This post is sponsored by Windex, but my review and opinions are my own.