Homeschool is not "School-at-Home"

Despite reading that statement over and over in books and blogs while I researched homeschooling, I still had idealistic views on how my homeschooling would go.  Specially pertaining to the Montessori method, I pictured perfect children silently moving about our home, choosing activities while I explained and presented them, each patiently waiting their turn.  Well, that little dream lasted for about a day!  Firstly, I will never be able to have a Montessori school at home, I don't have either the resources, both monetary or time-wise, to buy or make all the beautiful materials that would entail.  As I enviously peruse Montessori blogs, with their beautiful school rooms stacked with materials, I have to come to terms that will not happen here,  I don't have the space for a school room, and my baby-soon-to-be-toddler will quickly put an end to even being able to prepare the enviroment on the low shelves that we have in the living room. 
Beyond Montessori, other little details spoil the school-at-home scenario.  Like the 3 year old who insists on acting her age, and the baby of course, that needs to be fed, changed and put to sleep. 
On the positive side though, I'm embracing the many ways that homeschool is not like school-at-home, mainly in the flexibility.  My plan was pretty rigid, I had a vision of efficient use of time in the morning and "hitting the books" early on.  But that was entailing a change from our normal procedure of fairly slow mornings, and it was feeling stressful and contrived.  So I decided to relax on that.  I still want the children dressed before school, but learning can and does happen in our pajamas.  Some morning the children see a material out and want to explore it before we get done with the morning official duties.  And so what?  Isn't that the beauty of it all?  Can't I do what I want?  The work gets done and it happens more organically throughout the day than I first originally imagined.
Finally, I'm accepting the fact that my children and I are not going to essentially change because I am homeschooling.  I still need a clean house to function and I'm still going to be the one that does that throughout the day even though being at home means more messes than thought imaginable.  Both my children and I go stir crazy being at home all day and outings are going to have to be more of a regularity than originally intended.  I had read that you must remain at home to get the work done, but we are just not homebodies.  So my goal now is one day in and one day out of the house.  Be it the park, the store, or a friend's house, we have to get out and socialize lest we wilt. 
So those are just a few lessons learned so far.