We've got a 2 year old and a 2 week old. And we know/have met tons of other parents with similar-aged kids. SO MUCH has to do with parenting. Our 2 year old is an absolute monkey, but knows the limits, at least as well as any 2 year old can. We encourage her to be loud and rambunctious, but also to listen to us when we say it's time to be quiet. She's more or less perfectly well behaved when we ask her to be.
Stuff around the house is definitely something you have to watch out for. But you learn that quickly, and it's easy enough. Our daughter isn't really mischievous, so we're not overly concerned about hiding things, aside from the obvious (chemicals, faberge eggs
). But stuff does get broken, occasionally. Nothing overly expensive so far. Our 2 week old is 10x the work. I don't really enjoy the newborn stage, because there's little interaction, and no sleep. But once they're past that, it's just pure joy.
Remember too that it's different when it's not your kids, because you never see the positive side that parents love, only the rowdy side that you're not used to.
I was prepared for parenting to be somewhat like what you described, but 2 years in all I can say is that it's been a million times easier than I expected, and a billion times more rewarding.