how do i associate a device to my itunes account on my windows laptop?

Howdy kcharstein,

It sounds like you want to add a device to your iTunes Store account. According to the following article you can associate a Mac, PC, or iOS device to the account by downloading iCloud purchases to it:

Manage your associated devices in iTunes

When you turn on iTunes Match, Family Sharing, or Automatic Downloads, or when you download past purchases on your computer, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, that device becomes associated with your Apple ID. You can associate your Apple ID with up to 10 devices, with a maximum of 5 computers at any time. Each computer must also be authorized using the same Apple ID. You don't need to authorize your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Since you posted in the iPod Shuffle forum, that doesn't really pertain to your device so all you really need to do is sync it to your computer to get your content onto it:

Sync your iPhone, iPad, and iPod with iTunes using USB

You can also log into your support profile page to register the device to your account:

Apple - Support - My Support Profile

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.

All the best,

Sterling